After last night’s 102-101 come-from-behind victory over the Suns on Monday night, swingman Tony Allen is optimistic about the Grizzlies‘ chances to win it all, writes Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (subscription required). “We’ve got a great chance at getting it done this year,” said Allen, who won a ring with the Celtics in 2008. Here’s a look at the Southwest Division..
- The Pelicans won’t re-sign guard Nate Wolters for the remainder of the season after his 10-day contract expired Monday, a league source tells John Reid of The Times-Picayune. Reid writes that Wolters’ departure could result in more minutes for backup Jimmer Fredette, who gave New Orleans a great performance off of the bench on Monday night against Atlanta.
- The Grizzlies are 10-1 since acquiring Jeff Green, but that’s not the only thing boosting them in recent weeks, Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal (subscription required) writes. As good as Green has been for Memphis, the return of Zach Randolph gave them a palpable sense of cohesion that they didn’t have for much of December.
- The Mavs hoped that Al-Farouq Aminu, a 24-year-old former lottery pick, would be a minimum-salary bargain when they signed him this summer. So far, he’s producing for Dallas, giving them solid rebounding and defense off the bench, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. Aminu fell out of the rotation in favor of better scoring options earlier this year, but a need for reboudning cracked the door open for him once again. Aminu is averaging 11.2 boards per 48 minutes this season.