Grizz Notebook

[La Bomba]

The Grizzlies will honor a player who has stepped up this season to replace the one who stepped out.

 

Marc Gasol jersey T-shirts will be distributed to the first 3,000 fans attending the Grizzlies' Dec. 4 game against the Dallas Mavericks.

 

The night was supposed to belong to Allen Iverson whose name is on 3,000 promotional jerseys that will not be given away as originally planned.

 

Grizzly officials immediately ordered the Gasol T-shirts as a replacement after Iverson agreed to terminate his contract Nov. 16. Iverson, 34, cleared waivers three days later but has yet to sign with another team.

 

So what will happen to all of those unused Iverson jerseys?

 

The Grizzlies plan to ship the jerseys to impoverished children in Tanzania -- the birthplace of rookie center Hasheem Thabeet.

 

An NBA program -- Basketball Without Borders -- will facilitate the shipment to the African country. Basketball Without Borders is the NBA's global basketball development program that helps education, health and wellness.

 

"We are thrilled to partner with Hasheem Thabeet and the NBA's international program Basketball Without Borders," Griz president of business operations Greg Campbell said before adding, "This also gives us the opportunity to recognize Marc Gasol for his inspiring start to the season."

 

Iverson was the Grizzlies' most popular player.

 

Gasol's arguably been the most consistent and productive so far.

 

The second-year center entered Monday as the only NBA player to rank in the top five in rebounds (11.1 rpg) and field goal percentage (.611).

 

Odds and ends

 

Griz newcomer Jamaal Tinsley scored early in the second quarter to record his first points since the middle of the 2007-08 season. Tinsley signed with the team Nov. 14 and missed two shots in two games until he finished with seven points against the Kings. ... The Grizzlies are 3-1 since they officially waived Allen Iverson. ... Memphis allowed just 18 points in the first quarter, the lowest total by an opponent in any opening period this season. ... Rudy Gay scored 20-plus points in his fourth straight game. ... O.J. Mayo tied a career high by going 10 for 10 at the foul line.

 

Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi, the first NBA player from Iran, and Omri Casspi, the first Israeli player in the league, met at midcourt and shook hands before the game.

 

Haddadi had never faced an Israeli player on the court because teams from Iran, which does not recognize the Jewish nation, are not allowed to play Israel.

 

Haddadi, who didn't play even though Casspi did, has said none of that bothers him.

 

"It's just a sport," Haddadi said.

 

Clippers longtime TV play-by-play man Ralph Lawler and analyst Michael Smith were back behind the microphone following a one-game suspension by the Fox Sports Prime Ticket network Friday. They were reprimanded for some off-the-cuff remarks they made on the air last Wednesday at Memphis about Haddadi.

 

Both declined interview requests from the Associated Press about 2 hours before gametime, but during the opening of Monday's telecast, Lawler said: "I want to get something out of the way right here off the top of the show. Speaking for Mike, both of us deeply regret anything that we might have said in that ballgame against Memphis last Wednesday night that may have offended any good Clipper fan, or anybody else. We're glad to put it behind us, we're glad to be back, the Clippers wind up with a 106-99 victory over Denver -- Mike, I guess we missed a pretty darn good game."

 

He said it

 

"I knew I was ready to play, but not this quick." -- Kings rookie Tyreke Evans, who tossed in 28 points and has scored 20-plus points in seven consecutive games.

 

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/nov/24/no-headline---2009-11-23-232818769440/