Game 62: Hive Live

Dear James Posey,

I hate you.

Sincerely,
Lee

(Postscript after the jump)

• What a waste. After a slow (and off-kilter) start, the Bees roared back to take the lead and the momentum for most of the second half. But even after they gave away a 9 point lead in the final 5 minutes, they still had a chance to win or tie on the final possession. At least before Posey touched the ball...
• James Posey: 10 minutes, 0 points (0 for 1), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 (dumb) turnover. All for the low, low price of 6 million.
• Ok, it may be unfair to scrutinize Posey's contract against such a small sample size, but this kind of performance has been par for the course lately. Dumb fouls instead of defense, an inability to make most shots, and a severe lack of the-glue-that-holds-us-together-ness have been his calling cards of late. And it's really starting to wear thin.
• Once again, our rookies continue to shine. Darren put up 17 points, 1 rebound, 14 assists, and 5 steals, and Marcus added 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Can't praise these guys enough, really. Yes, they're still making mistakes and turning the ball over more than you'd like, but they're also athletic, aggressive, and quick. And they're getting better.
• By the by, the Hornets are a paltry 2–11 when Marcus scores 20 or more. I doubt there's any meaningful correlation (causation?... I don't know, I barely passed Micro), but Curry pointed it out and it seemed like it was worth mentioning. Please stop banging your heads against the wall.
• DX did his best Josh Smith impersonation tonight: 15 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, 5 blocks, and 2 steals. It was nice to see him put forth so much effort on D.
  
• Aaron Gray was unusually productive tonight: 7 points, 8 boards, a steal and a block. I mean, he still can't handle the ball at all (4 turnovers in 20 minutes), but that's probably not going to ever get any better. You kind of get what you pay for when you sign The White Panther (go look it up, that's actually his nickname).
• Bower continues to confuse me. He only played Emeka for 17 minutes. Yes, he accumulated 4 fouls, but he was also 5 of 6 from the court and could have easily continued to out-muscle Marc Gasol. Just because Gray had a decent night doesn't mean you bench your center for so long. And I'm not even going to talk about benching Thornton with less than 5 to play (and a 5 point lead) for Posey. I refuse to...
• The Grizz got a great (if not unusually productive) performance from Mike Conley, who contributed 26 points, 7 assists, and 5 steals. Randolph also impressed with a 23/11 performance and a few clutch FTs near the end of the game. They played us well and deserve credit for doing so. Mayo's poor percentage from the floor was just about the only blemish on their game.
  
• Dammit, Posey.

Opponent's Take: Straight Outta Vancouver

Grizzlies vs Hornets boxscore