Written by Jesse Lamovsky

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As a fan, it was tough to ask much more of Cleveland’s 109-101 loss to the Grizzlies Monday night at the FedEx Forum. The youngsters Irving and Thompson both played reasonably well, the Cavaliers competed well with the playoff-bound Grizzlies in their house and on the second night of a back-to-back no less, nobody got seriously hurt and- best of all- they didn’t win the game.

Rookie the First: The soon-to-be Rookie of the Year poured in 25 on 10-of-16 from the field with 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds. Irving’s ten-point in five-and-a-half-minute binge spanning the halves got Cleveland back into the lead after Memphis used a 14-0 run to go up 45-41. Kyrie cooled off late (sitting nearly eleven minutes can have that affect, though I don’t mind him not playing at this point) didn’t score after the midway point of the third and missed two big foul shots with 2:17 remaining and the Cavaliers down two. But we’re not here to nitpick. He played well.

Rookie the Second: Battling Memphis’s brawny front line, Tristan Thompson finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks, shooting better from the foul line (6-of-10) than from the floor (3-of-10.) Though like Kyrie he missed two freebies late with the Cavaliers down two, Tristan has been surprisingly proficient from the line of late; he’s sitting at 68 percent since moving into the starting lineup last month. That’s something, right? As much as the kid flails around down there, he’s going to get to the stripe.

Man of the Match: That would be our old buddy from Boston, Tony Allen. Now the official Glue Guy of the Grizzlies, Allen hit an efficient 6-of-9 for 13 points and added 8 rebounds and a career-high 8 steals, all of which seemed critical to the outcome. Allen’s three second-quarter steals helped turn the tide of the game, as Memphis turned a ten-point deficit into a seven-point lead with a 22-5 run. Cleveland shot well- 46.2 percent from the field and 45.8 from downtown, very passable under the circumstances. But turnovers- 19 in all- were the killer.

Pretty Impressive: Of course, Allen’s teammates weren’t bad either. Six Grizzlies scored in double figures, and that was with Zach Randolph giving them next to nothing (3 points, 5 rebounds.) The Grizzlies are healthy- relatively, at least- and they’re peaking at the right time with a 15-4 mark in their last nineteen. Is there any team in the West they can’t play with? I don’t see one. I’m not saying they’re going to the Finals, just that they can play with anyone out there.

Cue the Escape Club: Is there even a favorite in the West, really? In the East everyone knows it’s either Miami or Chicago- probably Miami. The West might as well be the pre-World War I Balkans. The Clippers have a shot, for God’s sake. I can’t remember the last time a conference playoff was this wide-open. Maybe the East in 2001, when the conference semifinals and finals all went seven as evenly-matched teams battled for the right to be curb-stomped by the Lake Show.

Now for the Important Stuff: That is, the latest update in the Lottery standings. I’m no longer going to include the 7-57 Charlotte Bobcats, who have lost 21 straight and are obviously a lock for the largest haul of ping pong balls. I’ll admit that, while I feel poorly for the fans down there (that was a great NBA city back in the day) I don’t mind seeing Michael Jordan crash and burn in this endeavor. Hubris is a bitch. Not that he cares.

Anyway…

Washington (18-46: --)

New Orleans (20-44: 2)

Cleveland (21-43: 3)

Sacramento (21-43: 3)

Toronto (22-43: 3.5)

New Jersey (22-43: 3.5)

Golden State (23-41: 5)

See, the problem here is that both of Cleveland’s last two games- at home against Washington and at Chicago- are potentially winnable. If the Bulls have home-court clinched (a big if since they’re at Indiana Tuesday) they are going to be flat-liners for the finale. On the other hand, if Chicago needs to beat the Cavaliers to clinch, look for them to take zero quarter. The Bulls have won their two meetings with Cleveland by 39 and 21 points, both at the Q.

Next: Washington comes to town Wednesday night at 7:30 for the final home game. The Artists Formerly Known as the Bullets have won four straight since their loss to the Cavaliers on April 14, including road wins at Chicago and Miami.