Do you want to see a dead body?
It was that bad at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The Memphis Grizzlies disemboweled the Atlanta Hawks and everything that happened was academic after the first quarter. Needing a win to make the Summer League playoffs, the defense was unforgiving with its ball pressure and contested shots promptly. They also held them scoreless for the first six minutes, by which time the Grizzlies already had a 21 point lead.
The Grizzlies made it worse from there, setting a record for fewest points allowed in a quarter in SL (two) as they went into the second. Eventually, the Hawks were playing and praying for the clock to run out quickly, and they weren't put out of their misery until the scoreboard highlighted a 32-point victory (96-64).
When it gets ugly like this, making sure the offense doesn't get predictable and pressuring the 3-point line is how a team prevents their opponent from making a huge comeback. Cameron Boozer , Cedric Coward , Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Javon Small get most of the credit for the team advancing.
Cameron Boozer couldn't be stopped, attacking the basket early in the game and it helped set the mood. His assertiveness continued without playing selfishly, as he looked to pass to the weak spots. Passing is one of the strongest parts of his game, and his nicest feed was a lob to Coward from the baseline.
One possession that highlighted how much of a threat he is going to be is when he forced a mismatch in the post and attracted help, passed out to a weak side and scored on a putback. On top of that, he didn't take unnecessary risks on defense, and using him to guard the inbounder is a nice wrinkle, taking advantage of his size. This win over the Hawks was easily his top SL performance, getting an Awith24 points on 77 percent shooting, with seven rebounds and three assists against four turnovers.
After the game, Coward called him special, vowing that both of them would do "good things."
Offensively, he wasn't looking to do anything but score, which he did well. All of his actions were off-ball, on cuts and working around screens/handoffs. He did his part and stayed out of the way, logging 18 points on 58.3 percent shooting. He gets an A.
Coward was the team's leading scorer in the first half with 13 points, and his most memorable moment was a sweet acrobatic layup through traffic in the first quarter. Additionally, his jumper was on target and he lived up to his reputation as one of the ascending young players in the NBA.
Him picking up full-court when the team had a 25-point lead sums up how hard he was going. He had 23 points on 58.3 percent shooting, but forget the numbers. He looked a level above everyone but Boozer. Of course, Coward gets an A.
Small followed up his big-time performance by playing within the flow of the offense as a steady connector in the first half. He didn't need to do too much, yet his defense was sharp and scored seven points. Since garbage time came early, he got it a bit careless with the ball and took his foot off the gas as a scorer. He finished with nine points on 50 percent shooting, with five rebounds and seven assists against five turnovers. He gets a B.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/grizzlies/onsi as Grading the Grizzlies's summer leaguers as they maul Hawks .
