Battier a Cut Above with His Toughness

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">In this, the season of NCAA Tournament pools, perhaps there should be a special Grizzlies pool, too -- for the number of stitches forward Shane Battier has had sewn into his coconut this season.

In a patented Battier move early in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 90-84 win over Utah at FedExForum, Battier held his ground as Jazz guard Keith McLeod tried to finish on a fast break. The official called an offensive foul on McLeod as both players went flying. McLeod injured his jaw and Battier suffered a cut on his head and had to be stitched up for a team-leading fourth time this season.

So, what is a good number to have in the Shane Battier stitches pool?
"It's about 25 or 26," Battier said. "At least it's on the other side of the head so it looks like I have racing stripes.

"It's old," Battier said of getting stitches. "It was funny the first time, but I'm all too familiar with Novocain."

For future protection against head-knocking plays, Battier said, "I may grow a little 'fro."

His final line from Sunday: 14 points, seven rebounds and four stitches.

"He's not scared of getting hit in the head hard enough for his head to open up," said Pau Gasol. "It shows his toughness and his level of professionalism."

As for the idea that Battier might grow an Afro, Gasol approved, saying, "It would make landing a little bit softer, but I don't think he'll go for it."

Pleasant Valley Sunday

A week ago, the Philadelphia 76ers came in here and beat the Grizzlies on a Sunday afternoon. The Grizzlies appeared to be headed toward the same fate against Utah when they went into halftime down 45-34 after shooting 33.3 percent from the floor and 10 percent (1-for-10) from 3-point range.

Judging by the way they played in the third quarter, outscoring the Jazz 33-17 and hitting 5-of-7 3-point attempts, they must have convinced themselves it was really a night game. They'll need to do it again because they play 3 p.m. games here the next two Sundays.

"We didn't have that energy," said guard Bobby Jackson. "We were kind of sluggish. Usually, we have Sundays off."

Said Battier: "It wasn't pretty in the first half ... your rhythm is off. Our bodies are trained, because we play so many games, to peak at 7 o'clock. We feel pretty juiced up at 7 o'clock even if we're home watching 'Desperate Housewives.'"

Giving Gasol

Although Gasol failed to score 20 points Sunday for the fourth game in a row -- matching his longest below-20 points stretch of the season -- he also just missed a triple-double as he had nine assists and 10 rebounds to go with 15 points. Gasol also ranks fourth in the NBA in games in which he leads his team in points, assists and rebounds with eight; LeBron James of Cleveland leads with 13, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett has 10 and Boston's Paul Pierce has nine.

"He's our big man on campus," said Eddie Jones.

Gasol believes the stat is important because it tracks what he's doing when he's not scoring.

"It shows that I'm playing smart and making the right decisions," he said. "Lately, I've been turning it over a little too much (13 turnovers in his last four games), but my teammates are doing an excellent job of cutting in the lane and finding open spots.

"I didn't have my good day shooting the ball (5-of-16 from field), so I focused on passing." </div>

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