Pirate Galaxy » of the second half against the Rebel

The Washington Wizards have had two days to digest various things that went wrong in their season opener in Atlanta. The Memphis Grizzlies have significantly less time to absorb some of their mistakes in New York.The teams meet Sunday night in Memphis looking to rebound from disappointing results.Washington opened its season under new coach Scott Brooks with a 114-99 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday. In the last 48 hours, Brooks likely pointed out some of the things that didnt go well when the Wizards allowed the Hawks to turn a one-point game into a double-digit margin.Among those things Brooks might have touched upon in practice and film sessions were the lack of rebounding, especially from those not named Marcin Gortat. Gortat had 11 rebounds while dealing with Dwight Howard but the Wizards were outrebounded 52-40, continuing the trend of last season when the team averaged 44.1 boards, a figure that was among the worst in the league.We have to be able to rebound as a team, Brooks told reporters following Saturdays practice. I want everybody boxing out, putting body on body, enjoying that physical contact that the game brings. Dont shy away from it.Another thing Brooks might have pointed out was focus. During the stretch which cost Washington the win, its defense gave up a 24-6 run to start the fourth quarter while the offense committed six turnovers and shot 3 for 11.We lost our focus, Gortat said. We were in the game for three quarters. Unfortunately, in the fourth quarter they made a run and made some shots. We didnt answer back. We didnt stop them defensively.Besides the lack of rebounding and focus down the stretch, John Wall had a tough game Thursday. In his first meaningful action since surgeries on both knees, he had 12 points and 10 assists but missed his first eight shots and was 3 for 15 overall in 30 minutes.He didnt shoot the ball well, but I thought he competed, Brooks told reporters. He had some turnovers were going to be able to correct with better spacing. I thought for what hes been through the last four or five months, I thought his conditioning was pretty good.While Washington might seem better rested, the Grizzlies look for a better start after its late night flight following a 111-104 loss to the New York Knicks. The Grizzlies gave up a 32-point first quarter, trailed by 18 in the first half before getting within two during the fourth.Weve got to get off to faster starts, Memphis forward Zach Randolph said. But we fought back. Were better than what we showed.Better than what they showed Saturday is defensively and although the Grizzlies won their season opener, they gave up 98 points to Minnesota on Wednesday and trailed 20-3 in the opening minutes.Right now early on weve lost our way a couple of times where were a bit too offensive minded and not focused on the defensive end and trying to win games offensively, Memphis coach David Fizdale said. We have to really dig in and get back to understanding who we are first, which is a defensive team.Marc Gasol scored 20 points Saturday in 31 minutes but could see limited minutes Sunday. Mike Conley had 11 in 23 minutes as Fizdale tried to rest him in the first half.Both players will see minutes restrictions during back-to-back sets since Conley rehabbed from an Achilles injury and Gasol recovered from foot surgery.Last season, the teams met twice in a span of nine days.On Dec. 14, Memphis beat the Wizards for the 16th time in 20 home meetings when Gasol had 24 and 12 rebounds in a 112-95 victory. On Dec. 23, Wall had 14 points and 14 assists in Washingtons 100-91 victory.Clearance Soccer Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Soccer Jerseys Outlet . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Fake Soccer Jerseys . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games.FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Arkansas coach Bret Bielema all but issued a direct challenge following a 49-30 loss to No. 1 Alabama, a game in which the Razorbacks allowed an average of 10.1 yards per play.If I have to get more involved, I have to get more involved, Bielema said. I just believe weve got to come up and play a lot faster and a lot better in all phases on defense.It was a challenge Arkansas (5-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) answered in a 34-30 win over No. 23 Mississippi on Saturday, putting together its best all-around defensive performance of the season while winning its third straight over the Rebels.The 17th-ranked Razorbacks held an Ole Miss offense that had topped 500 yards in each of its previous three times to 403, a much-more manageable 5.8 yards per play than a week earlier against the Crimson Tide.They also held All-SEC quarterback Chad Kelly to 18-of-39 passing for 253 yards, thanks in large part to a season-high seven pass breakups. It was the first time the senior has completed less than 50 percent of his passes in a game during his two seasons at Ole Miss.Arkansas safety Santos Ramirez had one of those breakups, as well as forcing a Kelly fumble during a late-game, fourth-down scramble to secure the win.People doubted us after the Alabama loss, but we came back ready to work, Ramirez said. Now theres some big momentum for us going into Aubburn.ddddddddddddith the Razorbacks now focused on this weeks trip to No. 21 Auburn (4-2, 2-1), Bielema somewhat backed off his perceived challenge of a week ago. He made it clear on Monday that he had no additional input on the defensive play-calling than any other week.I didnt have that intention, Bielema said. I knew we were a good football team; I knew we had to play better.Whatever the intent of Bielemas challenge, it worked. And it did so with second-leading tackler Dre Greenlaw out 4-6 weeks with a right foot injury. Without the sophomore linebacker, and junior safety DeAndre Coley out for much of the second half against the Rebels following a targeting ejection, junior safety Josh Liddell matched his career high with nine tackles.Liddell was one of several defensive standouts in the game for the Razorbacks, along with Ramirez, who added a one-handed interception to go with his game-clinching forced fumble.Now its up to Arkansas to keep its defensive momentum going this week at Auburn, this time without its head coach issuing any public ultimatums.When you just keep grinding like that and guys are working together as a team, thats when you get results that come out in your favor, Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith said. ' ' '