Memphis Grizzlies
2008-09 Record: 24-58
Anticipated Starting Five
PG- Allen Iverson
SG- O.J. Mayo
SF- Rudy Gay
PF- Zach Randolph
C- Marc Gasol
Key Reserves: Mike Conley, Hasheem Thabeet, Darrell Arthur, Sam Young, DeMarre Carroll
Biggest Strength: Talented offensive players
A.I. can score the ball even at his old age, Rudy Gay can put the ball in the hole, Mayo is a scorer and pretty good three-point shooter and Gasol is solid inside and Randolph can get you 20-10 as well. So it isn’t a question of can they score or will they score. It’s more a question of WHO scores, how are shots distributed and will the scoring be efficient or haphazard?
Biggest Weakness: Defense
Who is going to play defense in Memphis? Well we know Iverson isn’t a big defender. Rudy Gay is pretty weak, Randolph sucks and Gasol does the best he can with the physical ability he has. I question how much Thabeet will be on the court as a rookie learning to play defense without getting in foul trouble.
Basically when you insert two poor defenders into your regular rotation everyone has to compensate. And Memphis doesn’t have the other defenders to make up for that.
Key Player: Lionel Hollins
Whenever you have a team with Allen Iverson and Zack Randolph on it the coach is the most important person. He needs to manage these very combustible personalities and make sure the rest of the team functions properly.
On top of that how does he incorporate Iverson who is on a one year deal and not stunt the growth of either Mayo or Conley? It’s not like Memphis is a contender or even a playoff team. Hollins will likely have a season long migraine.
Biggest Question: Can A.I. change his game?
I had always hoped that A.I. would, at some point in the twilight of his career, lead the NBA is assists. It’s pretty obvious at this point that that is not likely, and it’s going to be darn near impossible for A.I. to play on a squad where he doesn’t still dominate the ball. But… Iverson was basically embarrassed last year. He left the Nuggets, who nearly went to the Finals without him, to the Pistons, who nearly missed the playoffs with him. If he can’t re-establish himself as a productive player this year, he might not find a home next year.
Best Individual Season of All-Time: Pau Gasol, 2005-06
20.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.9 bpg
Not a lot to choose from here, and Gasol just makes the cut over Shareef Abdul-Rahim. Only Garnett and Webber have put up assist and block numbers like that as a 20+ point scoring big man this decade. It’s a stretch, but it’s all I got for this one.
Pete’s 2010 Outlook: 5th place, Southwest division / 14th place, Western conference / 27th place, NBA
Mayo, Iverson, Gay, Randolph, Thabeet. This team might not win a whole lot of games, but I will certainly watch them whenever I get a chance. If everything were to come together, it really is an intriguing team. Both Mayo and Gay are very talented youngsters who still have a lot of room for improvement, particularly Mayo. Randolph is tremendously talented when motivated, and at 28, could certainly have some sort of revelation this year. Thabeet will do nothing offensively, but may have a big impact on defense, where this team needs it. The addition of Iverson might get the fans in the seats and some excitement in the players. Even if all that happens, this team would still struggle to make the playoffs in the West, but with their new additions and exciting young players, I’ll be paying attention.
Dannie’s 2010 Outlook: 5th place, Southwest division / 13th place, Western conference / 24th place, NBA
Memphis might have a future with the young player they have but right now they will be a very mediocre team. BUT their fans have someone new and exciting they can come cheer for. Iverson in a new city and on a losing team should boost the home attendance a bit. If they win some games the attendance will be even better.
Maybe this team surprises us?!?!
See all 2010 NBA team previews
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This team.
Every time I get a bad notion about our management, or the direction our team is going in, or just want to give up on the Sixers…I think of teams like this. Who on earth would basically get rid of Pau and pick up Randolph. I mean really. I know they got his brother, some bums and a couple picks, but they’ll just keeping screwing it up. I would also like to thank them for giving Allen a chance, as I was sure he’d wiggle himself on our roster because of the revenue situation, and once again, I was wrong. So thanks to the ownership and Chris Wallace for making my days that much better.
Greatest strength(s):
-Youth
-Athleticism
-Fastbreak offense
-O.J Mayo
-Some veterans (if they do cooperate and go with the flow!!)
-Coach Hollins for having his players display some toughness
Greatest weakness(es):
-Inexperience (from the young players)
-Road woes
-Chemistry??
I think the Grizzlies will be 5th in the Southwest, 12th in the West.
(On a side note, the Sixers will sweep the Grizzlies (2-0). Expect both games to be hard fought like last season.)
I have been laughing at the Grizzlies for choosing Hasheem Thabeet as the 2nd pick of the draft in June for four months now…and will continue to keep laughing. After watching more Big East basketball then any other conference the past few years, I have had the chance to see Thabeet prove that not only does he have an almost non-existent offensive game in terms of post scoring, but that he is utterly inept with any aspect of ANY basketball when he isn’t blocking a shot. He sets HORRENDOUS, laughably bad screens, has no sense of angles or how to use his body properly, often wanders aimlessly in a halfcourt set, makes weak cuts…I just cannot believe this guy is the #2 pick. I’d take 100 Roy Hibbert’s and Jordan Hill’s over Thabeet. I’m sure eventually he’ll be a 20 mpg guy that gets 9 pts and 5 boards and 2 blocks and alters a lot of shots…but he should not have gone that high, and I think Z-Randolph, Gasol and Arthur will still get the majority of the PF/C minutes.
Iverson – Dannie you said it…three different coaches (O’Brien, Cheeks, Karl) have all claimed Iverson is able to average 10 dimes a game, and Iverson has always proclaimed “this will be the year”…and it never happens. He HAS grown incredibly off the court, and I think he has a sense of humbleness and maturity that he never had in his youth…always love listening to him in interviews now, and shockingly consider him to be a good role model for how he TALKS about the game.
But his actions are another story, and while he admittedly was thrust into a crappy situation with Detroit last year, Iverson did not handle himself like a pro. He claims they told him he would never come off the bench…mid season things werent working, they say, “AI, how about coming off the bench?” A pro’s pro would keep his anger in check, say “F— it, let’s give it a try, and I’ll prove doubters wrong by being the best 6th man this league has ever seen,” but of course Iverson whines and rattles off to Scoop Jackson about how Detroit “betrayed” him. Give me a break.
Love AI to death, always will, and I do think his game has matured over the years as he was a MUCH better decision maker during his last two years with the Sixers and two years with the Nuggets…he was very efficient and shared the ball nicely with Melo, and his assists were way up in our mediocre C-Webb years, both of which has flown under the radar a bit…but he still pulls up for J’s too much and needs to dominate the ball to the detriment of the team. I’m really in his camp more then ever this year, and hope he proves the doubters wrong so that he can land on a contender next year as a lightning bolt off the bench.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about AI: don’t bet against him when he’s backed into a corner. Best of luck AI, Philly is pulling for you.
Sam Young – One of the five second round steals of the draft this year. I cant believe we didnt trade up to get him, he would have been perfect for our team. Grizz have gotten very lucky to have players the caliber of S Young and D Arthur fall to them in the late 20’s/early 30’s two years in a row.