<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Chris Paul stood well beyond the 3-point arc, calmly launched one of what seemed like 100 daggers in the third quarter and then suggested that someone sound an alarm. The Grizzlies' Mike Miller passes off as he's double-teamed by Hornets guards Bobby Jackson and Chris Paul in the first quarter. Paul scored 40 points as the Hornets routed the struggling Grizzlies on Wednesday at FedExForum. The Grizzlies' Hakim Warrick grabs a rebound from the Hornets' Tyson Chandler during Wednesday's evening's game at the FedExForum. Warrick finished with 12 points. The point guard shook his right hand repeatedly as if it was burning and needed cooling off at the moment his New Orleans Hornets began turning up the heat Wednesday night during their 116-98 victory over the Grizzlies in FedExForum. If it seems as though Paul's always on fire every time he's played the Grizzlies, that's because he has been this season. Paul demonstrated another clinic on how to score out of pick-and-rolls, finished with 40 points and nine assists to help send the Griz to their third straight loss, and a sixth defeat in the past seven home games. ... The crowd booed Gasol on a Grizzlies possession midway through the fourth when he pump faked a shot with Tyson Chandler guarding him. Gasol then lost the ball on his drive to the basket. "I didn't look at it as it was for me," Gasol said of the loud jeering. "It was the game. We didn't play together. I didn't do a good job. I know that. But I was trying to make the right play." Gasol attempted only six shots. He finished with eight points, ending a streak of 81 games in which he's scored in double figures. Gasol was met with double-team defenses whenever he caught the ball in the post, and he routinely passed out to shooters ... How bad did this one get for the Griz? Oddly enough, the Hornets were assessed a technical foul for only having four players on the court when 2:54 remained in the fourth.</div> http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/.../stinging-loss/ This was an interesting game on multiple levels. Chris Paul solidified his place amongst the league's best with a near flawless performance (40 points on 17-25 FG, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals, and only 1 turnover), Darko Milicic solidified his place as the league's biggest joke (2 points, 3 rebounds --- which was sadly better than his other recent performances), and the Grizzlies were actually scored on while the Hornets only had four players on the floor. The Grizzlies were not only getting boo'ed, but the Hornets were laughing at them, literally. Marc Iavaroni needs to be fired, because not only is he ruining this ball club, but he's ruining the careers of a lot of the young players on it. They really do have a lot of great players. Not only does Kyle Lowry continue to show that he was the steal of the '06 draft (15 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists last night), but they have another rising star at the point in Mike Conley, Jr., soon to come back from injury. They have two of the best offensive wings in the league in Mike Miller and Rudy Gay, and in the post they have an All-Star, Pau Gasol. They just need to run an offense that utilizes Gasol more. The team works a lot better when the offense runs through the middle, and Iavaroni needs to realize that. He's not in Phoenix anymore, and he's got a great tool at his disposal, a skilled seven-footer who's a triple threat. If Iavaroni persists with the current system though, Gasol's going to keep having nights like he had last night (8 points on 3-6 FG, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists with 4 turnovers), and the team's going to keep losing as a result. One of the two has to go, either the system or Iavaroni.
I heard Gasol say that the team is not running any plays for him at the post which is a crime, he said he has never shot these many jumpers in his life.
