AP Source: Hornets Interview Fratello

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer

A person familiar with the meeting says the New Orleans Hornets have interviewed Mike Fratello, the third candidate to meet with the club about its vacant head coaching job.

Hornets executives met with Fratello in Cleveland on Wednesday, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the club has not officially announced interviewing Fratello.

Fratello has coached the equivalent of about 15 seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies. His last coaching stint was in Memphis from 2004 to 2006.

On Tuesday, Hornets executives were in Texas interviewing former Dallas coach Avery Johnson and current Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey.

Game 27: Mavericks vs. Grizzlies

Memphis plays the Lakers before they play the Mavericks. Let's just say that they Grizzlies lose that game... pretty safe guess, I would admit. And then they play the Mavs Tuesday. Tired. Well, after getting ripped a new one by the Lakers, they could be... or they simply forfeit the game and rest all the starters for the Mavericks game... well, that might be a better plan of action. The last time the Grizzlies did play the Lakers, they did win... mmmmmmm... what to do, what to do....

Mavericks Player Stats 08-09

Name	Dirk Nowitzki	Jason Terry	Josh Howard	Jason Kidd
Points Per Game	26.3	21.1	18.5	9.6
Rebounds Per Game	9.1	3.0	6.5	6.3
Assists Per Game	2.6	3.9	1.5	8.1
Blocks Per Game	0.92	0.28	0.50	0.52

Josh Howard is still a bit of a concern to me. At least he's still playing. And his numbers will climb back up to where we know and love them to be...

Grizzlies Player Stats 08-09

Name	O.J. Mayo	Rudy Gay	Marc Gasol	Hakim Warrick
Points Per Game	20.3	20.2	10.8	9.8
Rebounds Per Game	4.0	5.0	6.8	4.7
Assists Per Game	2.8	1.7	1.3	0.6
Blocks Per Game	0.08	0.77	1.08	0.38

Really not too much to look at when it comes assists... they're not a strong rebounding team, either. They're SSSOOO going to lose to the Lakers. And they don't appear to matchup too well against the Mavs.
Forecast: Keepin' it simple... Grizzlies drop this one like a newspaper at 3AM. Score looks like: 102-93.

Home Court

Game 13: Mavs vs. Grizzlies

The Mavs go up against the Grizzlies... and they are not in last place. The Mavericks won the last time the two met with a score of 98-83. Both Dallas and Memphis are on winning streaks, although the Mavs are at a three game streak and the Grizzlies are just at a one game winning streak. Memphis topped Sacramento on the 18th with a 109-94 score. The Mavericks have won against the Knicks, Bobcats, and Rockets.

In my mind, the Mavericks were supposed to win those games, and especially against a depleted Bobcats and a Ming-less Rockets team. So, what does that mean about tonight? Well, this is another game the Mavericks should win. They have the better team. But what is important is that the Mavericks are playing like a team and not a group of individuals... and that means they could walk out on the court and just about top anybody. They haven't been playing like a team consistently, hence the 5-7 record and fourth place standing within the division, but when they do play as a team, they nail down the competition.

Now, the Grizzlies are in fifth place in the division with a 4-7 record, so a win for them tonight would have them pass up the Mavericks and move into fourth place. Question: are the Grizzlies as bad as the record, or are they just not playing up to their potential?

Grizzlies to Watch:

• Rudy Gay: 20.6 PPG
• O.J. Mayo: 20.1 PPG
• Marc Gasol: 12.4 PPG; 7.2 RPG
• Hakim Warrick: 10.7 PPG; 6.0 RPG

The Grizzlies appear to play selfishly, averaging only 16.6 assists per game. What that means is they do not share the ball (not much of a passing game) and generally whoever has the ball, takes the shot. It looks like they basically have a one-dimensional offense, which should be fairly easy to stop for the Mavericks. (Note: Before beating Sacramento, the Grizzlies had a four game losing streak).

Mavericks to Watch:

• Dirk Nowitzki: 24.7 PPG; 8.3 RPG
• Josh Howard: 20.3 PPG; 8.2 RPG
• Jason Terry: 18.3 PPG
• Jason Kidd: 9.5 PPG; 7.1 RPG; 8.3 APG

Before the current three game winning streak, the Mavericks had a 5-game losing streak. After tonights game, the Mavericks have three days off before playing Indiana. The margin of victory for the last three games is 10, 17, and 10...

Forecast: Look for another double-digit win tonight by the Mavericks. I do not know if they have necessarily arrived, but they should have enough to show up the Grizzlies in grandiouse fashion. Look for the first home victory tonight with a score of 105-92.

Home Plate