Greetings
Youngblood here with a quick pre-game update.
So, Kevin Love's sore left groin has knocked him out of action today; he looked to be hindered late in Friday's game, and he didn't even make the trip here. It's my guess -- and it's only a guess -- that Love could miss a few more games this time. Rambis wouldn't say if Love would miss the rest of the season. But we'll see.
Darko Milicic (ankle) and Sebastian Telfair (personal reasons) also missed the trip, which means the shorthanded Wolves will meet a surging Grizzlies team (which has won six of seven games) that is defending like crazy and smelling the playoffs.
So, you'd think, Rambis will plug Anthony Randolph into the starting lineup like he did last time, right?
Wrong. He is starting Nikola Pekovic at center, but then Rambis decided to move Michael Beasley to the big forward spot, Wes Johnson to the small forward spot and start Wayne Ellington. His thinking? That Beasley might be a better matchup, defensively, on Memphis power forward Zach Randolph. And, at the same time, Rambis thinks it will be good to force Randolph to chase Beasley around at the other end, too.
That should be a very interesting matchup to watch. Beasley played the power forward position in Miami, and a lot of folks think it's his natural position. Ditto for Johnson.
Personally, I don't think it matters much who guards Randolph; he has beaten up on the Wolves this season.
