Scatter-shooting after the Grizzlies’ 104-83 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday at FedExForum evened their first-round playoff series at 2-2:

• Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding. In the two games in Memphis (both wins), the Grizzlies out-rebounded L.A. 90-61. It’s no surprise, then, the Griz also own a 44-6 advantage in second-chance points over the last two games. “They beat us up on the glass again,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said.
• Center Marc Gasol’s refrain for the Griz is “We have to be who we are.” They were again in Game 4 as he went for 24 points (18 in the second half) and 13 rebounds. Zach Randolph had 24 and 9. Asked about point guard Mike Conley, who had 13 assists (plus 15 points) getting the bigs the ball, Gasol said: “That’s what he’s supposed to do. We expect him to be the playmaker that he is.”
• The Griz starters beat the Clippers starters 88-40 in Game 4 (Chris Paul and Blake Griffin each had 19 points). So it didn’t matter that the Clippers’ bench had 43-16 edge on the Grizzlies. As in Game 3, reserve Quincy Pondexter provided a spark for Memphis; he scored 10 in Game 4 and was hustling all over the court and logged time at the 1, 2 and 3 spots.
• Griz coach Lionel Hollins rejected the idea they did much of anything different in terms of strategy these last two games. “We took away a lot of stuff (L.A. wanted to do offensively), but not by any scheme, but by hard play.”
• Big Z-Bo, small Z-Bo. After averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds in the Game 1 and 2 losses, Randolph is averaging 25.5 points and 10 boards in the two victories. “Just getting the ball in the right spots, picking and choosing, being aggressive instead of holding and waiting for a double-team to come,” Randolph said of why the last two games have been better.
• Someone please stop the tennis madness. Phrases like “holding serve” and “breaking serve” are being thrown around by everyone when talking about how the series “doesn’t really start” until a road time wins. Only one problem, besides how annoying the tennis lingo is, the series could go 7 games without a road team ever winning. That event would be unhappy for the Grizzlies, because Games 5 and 7 are in L.A. Game 5 is Tuesday; Game 6 is next Friday in Memphis.
• A reporter noted that Gasol seemed a little ill at ease this week when he received his Defensive Player of the Year award while the Griz were 0-2 in the series. He agreed, but when asked if he felt more deserving of the award after evening the series, Gasol, true to form, said, “It doesn’t feel deserved now. We’re 2-2. We’re not 4-2. We haven’t done anything yet. We’ve still got to go out there and win a game.”
• Chris Paul on the road ahead, with Game 5 and potentially Game 7 in L.A., “That’s why you work so hard for homecourt.”

As the Grizzlies start their first-round playoff series in L.A. Saturday night against the Clippers it is fair to wonder which version of Zach Randolph the Grizzlies will get. They don’t have to have the monster who at times carried them in the 2011 playoffs, though that would be nice. And he doesn’t figure to be the compromised player who was coming off a knee injury last season and was nowhere near himself.

But will he be more the double-double machine from the first half of this season who earned a second career All-Star Game selection or the inconsistent player we have seen for much of the second half of this season?

To be fair, Z-Bo has battled an ankle injury since early March and even missed a few games. But apart from that, he has had more than a few moments where he looked tired or disinterested. He finished off the regular season with his 45th double-double in scoring 25 points with 19 rebounds in a victory over Utah.

But before that, he had failed to score in double-figures three times in recent games. He had looked slow, out of it, searching.

In a recent home game he became frustrated by the officiating — that’s happened more down the stretch — and he accidentally hit a female fan with the ball and received a technical. He apologized and hugged her, but throwing that ball in anger was symbolic of how much he feels the game has been out of his control.

Veteran Tayshaun Prince said Randolph is in a “tough” spot, trying to figure who he can be now. He’s not the player that could be dominant, but he also has more freedom in the post-Rudy Gay Era. Yet, Randolph also has to understand that others players, such as Mike Conley and Jerryd Bayless, are more crucial to the offense now than ever before.

“He has to be aggressive, he’s a scorer for us,” Prince said. “The most important thing is, when he’s not making shots to try and stay on the offensive glass and get some easy opportunities.”

Conley was happy to see Z-Bo put up big numbers in the regular-season finale, but the numbers were not what mattered most.

“It was fun to watch him play like that,” Conley said. “He could have missed every shot and I wouldn’t have cared. I enjoyed seeing him energized and engaged.”

Which he will have to be in this series or the Grizzlies’ stay in the postseason will be a short one.

The Memphis Tigers received three awards from Conference USA on Tuesday as senior D.J. Stephens was voted Defensive Player of the Year, guard Chris Crawford was selected Sixth Man of the Year, and Shaq Goodwin was named to the All-Freshman Team.

Stephens led the league in blocks. Crawford elevated his game during C-USA play, shooting 44 percent from 3-point range. Goodwin averaged 7.9 points.

Player of the Year and Coach of the Year will be announced Wednesday in Tulsa, site of the league’s postseason tournament. Earlier, Joe Jackson was named first-team All-C-USA and Stephens, Adonis Thomas and Geron Johnson made third-team All-C-USA.

Tigers guard Joe Jackson has been named All-Conference USA first team and three other Tigers were selected to the third team.

The league made the announcement on Monday, March 11, and Geron Johnson, D.J. Stephens and Adonis Thomas were all third-team choices. Coach Josh Pastner was happy Jackson made first-team, saying there was “no doubt” about that decision, but he was miffed more players did not earn first-or-second-team honors and that Chris Crawford was not recognized.

In fact, Pastner interrupted Jackson’s interview session with media at the Finch Center Monday to say that if Crawford is not the league’s Sixth Man of the Year there should “be a Congressional hearing.” He also said Shaq Goodwin should be Freshman of the Year, Johnson Newcomer of the Year, and Stephens Defensive Player of the Year. He stopped short of saying he should be Coach of the Year but Thomas did that work for him.

“Most definitely,” Thomas said of Pastner as the league’s Coach of the Year. “Coach has done a great job this season.”

The league’s major awards will be announced Wednesday in Tulsa, site of the C-USA Conference Tournament. Memphis begins play Thursday night.

Just 24 hours after the Rudy-less and shorthanded Grizzlies got thumped in Oklahoma City on national television, they beat the Washington Wizards 85-76 Friday night before one of the smallest crowds of the season at FedExForum.

While fans and media have been debating all the Grizzlies’ changes under new ownership — the trade with Cleveland that sent out three players and a protected first-round draft pick, and the anticipated but still shocking trade of Rudy Gay to Toronto — those on the inside have turned the page because that’s what professional players and coaches have to do.

“We won,” coach Lionel Hollins said when asked his reaction to Friday’s game with several new players. “I’m happy.”

The most recognizable name and face in the contingent coming to the Grizzlies — 11-year Detroit Pistons veteran Tayshaun Prince — introduced himself to Memphis with 14 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting performance. He moved within the flow of the offense and defense like he’d been here two months, not two minutes.

“Marc Gasol was directing me every time Mike (Conley) called a play and that helped,” Prince said. “It was tough, but I tried to keep it as simple as possible for the first game.”

All of the change has been tough on the entire team but Conley, who had a game-high 18 points, said he felt a bit of normalcy returning on Friday night; the victory improved their record to 30-16.

“We’re not all the way there,” Conley said. “We’re just now coming out of the smoke, the haze of that trade. But tonight, for the most part, it felt like we were back.”

The Grizzlies’ next game is at home, on Tuesday, Feb. 5, against the Phoenix Suns.