Miami Heat To Take On The Memphis Grizzlies
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MIAMI (AP) -- The Memphis Grizzlies have lost as many games in the last seven days as they did through the first seven weeks of the season, and coach Dave Joerger blames it on defense.
It also might have something to do with the absence of Zach Randolph.
The veteran big man could miss a fourth straight game as Memphis looks to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat when it visits the Miami Heat on Saturday night.
The Grizzlies (21-8) won 21 of their first 25 before their current slide began with a 103-97 loss to Chicago on Dec. 19 in which Randolph sat out the entire fourth quarter after suffering a knee injury late in the third.
Memphis has felt the effects of his absence, getting outrebounded by a combined margin of 25 over its last two contests. The latest setback was Friday's 117-111 overtime loss to Houston, which hauled in 54 rebounds.
"(We're missing his) rebounding, his scoring and his leadership out there," said Courtney Lee, who shot 1 of 6 and scored four points. "Hopefully we'll see him out there soon. We've got to focus on Miami. Once we get that win, I think we'll get off on another (winning) streak."
Marc Gasol scored 29 points and is averaging 25.3 since Randolph went down. Joerger, though, is more concerned with the Grizzlies allowing their last three opponents to shoot a combined 50 percent after holding teams to 43.8 prior to that stretch.
Defensive specialist Tony Allen returned Friday after missing four games with a right corneal abrasion.
"We're not guarding, and we're going to see another talented team (Saturday) that's offensively potent," Joerger said. "We've got to defend. They're sitting there waiting for us and they're probably confident after a big win."
The Heat (14-16) are coming off a 101-91 victory over Cleveland on Christmas Day in LeBron James' return to Miami. However, they're also dealing with the absence of a quality big man with Chris Bosh missing the last seven games with a calf injury.
Miami's plan has been to give Bosh a full day of practice before he returns, but coach Erik Spoelstra gave the team an off day Friday. Still, there's hope Bosh feels comfortable enough to return for this contest or Monday against Orlando when the Heat complete a seven-game homestand.
Dwyane Wade had 31 points against the Cavaliers - his exact average over his last four - and Luol Deng added 25 while shooting 11 of 16 for the Heat, who are 3-4 without Bosh.
"I've been more involved with the offense," Deng, who signed a two-year deal in the offseason, told the Heat's official website. "We weren't going to figure it out right away. And I think we're going to keep figuring it out as we go along, even when Bosh comes back."
Deng has had his share of solid efforts, but he's also had plenty of off nights while trying to find some consistency within the offense.
"He's learning our system (and) we're learning how best to incorporate him," Spoelstra said. "He's a very unique player. I think we're getting progressively better as the season goes along."
Wade had 25 points and Deng added 13 against the Grizzlies on Dec. 7, but the Heat fell 103-87 in Memphis. Jon Leuer had season highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Grizzlies shot a season-best 58.9 percent.
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