Last game, the Grizz had the Sixers on the ropes, but had a 9 point 4thQ and lost by 4. Abdur-Rahim is averaging a double-double (pts/rebs), Dickerson is shooting 41.5% of his 3's, Bibby is dishing out 8 assists/game and the fans will be out to rattle Steve. The Grizz also get to the line only 2.5 fewer times per game than the Rocks. The Rockets won the first meeting, but were behind at the half and lost all the statistcal battles except rebounding (Dream and Steve with 8 each) and assists (Steve 6, MoT 5). IMHO, the guards and SF's will neutralize each other and the game will won at the C and PF postion. I like Dream & Pig over Reeves and Ike Austin and also MoT and KT over Othella and Swift. Here's what I feel is key: 1) Solid D. If Abdur-Rahim, Dickerson, and Bibby get into the lane too easily, Mo, KT, and Dream will pick up fouls limiting their PT and our big man advantage. 2) Pass the ball to the open man. No explanation needed. 3) Absolutely DO NOT get behind early and/or come out flat after halftime. Let's keep the crowd out of it! 4) Second unit intensity - Cat had 15 and Collier 8 in the first meeting. ------------------ GATER [This message has been edited by GATER (edited December 11, 2000).]
GATER: If you don't mind, I'd like your opinion about something. How good do you think Shareef *really* is? I haven't seen him play THAT much, but he puts up great stats... however, his team barely ever wins. I know he hasn't had the greatest supporting staff, but if he's really as good as some claim, he alone would be enough to win more than the Grizz do... and the last couple of years he's had Bibby, Dickerson, etc... and they've still sucked. Is he: A) an extremely unlucky franchise player, B) a terrific complimentary player, or C) he's a beneficiary of the "Clipper Effect," (by which I mean he gets good stats because he's the best of a bad bunch... someone has to score). I'm really curious at this point... I get shouted down whenever I suggest he may not be a jilted all-star... yet I can't see how a player *that* good would let his team win less than 20 games as often as he has. ------------------ Shandon Anderson rocks. The lottery sucks. Playoffs 2001. [This message has been edited by haven (edited December 11, 2000).]
Shareef doesnt have a great complimentory staff? Grizzlies have some of the best talent in the NBA. Bibby is one of the better point guards in the NBA. Dickerson is one of the better shooting guards. Othella, Swift and Raheem should be one of the most dominating front courts in the NBA. But for some reason they suck as a team. ------------------ SUCK POLICE!!!!!! To point out individuals or teams that have managed to reach the pinnacle of SUCKINESS!!!!! ----- THE WASHINGTON SUCKSKINS!!!!!!! My Cowboys might SUCK, but its nice to know that we can always rely on the SUCKSKINS to be our B**CH!!!!
Vancouver has pretty good starting personel. And from the small amount I've seen Abdur Raheem is the real deal. Swift seems to have vanished on that team for the moment. But, the real problem to me is their center. Reeves is plain bad. I don't know, they're a pretty young team, and sometimes lots of good players doesn't equal a good team, Boston springs to mind. ------------------
It can take a lot of time for a young team to be able to start racking up the wins. Bibby is a good PG, but his shooting range doesn't quite stretch to the three point line (consistently) - that has to hurt because it allows his defender to play one step back. I like to compare Vancouver to the Bucks, both teams have 3 good players in the "smaller" positions. The Bucks took a long while to get themselves to the playoffs and it seems like the Grizzlies are doing the same thing. Oh, and I've seen Shareef play about 10 times in my life, and he is just great! ------------------
haven - good question. You're right about the possible "Clipper effect" but that wouldn't explain his being #11 in rebounding, #30 in steals, #20 in FT%, and in the Top 50 in FG%. Let say Vancouvers management was under the influence of some drug and traded us Abdur-Rahim for say a Top 10 protected 1st rounder. Can you honestly say you wouldn't want him in the Rockets starting lineup? The Grizzlies as a team lack: A) a winning tradition & attitude B) inside postup presence C) playing time as a unit Both A & B explains past interests in Dream. I hope we don't take them too lightly! A lot of NBA players revel in beating their former team and the Grizz have ALOT of ex-Rockets. ------------------ GATER [This message has been edited by GATER (edited December 11, 2000).]
Gater: Oh, I know he's a good player... I sort of think Shareef's stats are probably a combination of being a pretty good player and being on a crappy team (sort of like Mo is a slightly above average player who scored alot on a horrible team). I just haven't seen him enough to make a true appraisal, so any assertion I made would be guesswork. Heh... I just think it's odd that someone who so many people think is such a stud would let his team lose *that* much. Houston doesn't really have a better team than Vancouver, outside of Francis, but they win more. ------------------ Shandon Anderson rocks. The lottery sucks. Playoffs 2001.
Rockets by 8. I want to see some more from Taylor! I predict he will have another solid game tonite. ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
You are forgetting the Grizzlies starting PF, Grant Long. This is the guy that sets the picks to free up Rahim. He also rebounds well and plays very good D. Mo will revert back to his usual form tonight, 4pts 2 reb and a lot of time on the pine (foul trouble) ------------------ When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view. -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
I have watched quite a few Grizzlies games this year on League Pass. Shareef is the real deal. He posts up a lot and actually, I think he plays more like a PF. I don't know about prior years, but I'm not impressed with Sidney at head coach at all. I've seen him go with his starters for virtually the first 3 quarters, and he has hardly used Stromile Swift at all. They have a log jam at PF with Grant Long, Othello and Massenburg who hardly ever plays. I think Swift has been playing a little more lately, but not much. Big Country is not their problem. They play him away from the basket, so he doesn't figure much in the offense one way or the other. Ike Austin has been starting and he seems real streaky to me. I think their biggest problem is at crunch time. Bibby looks like he doesn't want to shoot much then, and Dickerson really misses alot at crunch time, even free throws. Shareef gets doubled quickly at crunch time, and that really limits his effectiveness. Othello is probably there best go to guy, but isn't always in there at the end. ------------------
No to brag, but... <h3> I TOLD YOU SO</h3> ------------------ When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view. -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
I've seen him go with his starters for virtually the first 3 quarters, and he has hardly used Stromile Swift at all. They have a log jam at PF with Grant Long, Othello and Massenburg who hardly ever plays. I think Swift has been playing a little more lately, but not much. Swift definitely has a big upside, but he was horrible last night. He was completly overmatched and didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. ------------------
Yeah, Swift did look pretty bad last night. Hakeem's two blocks probably didn't help his feelings any. Massenburg got all Ike Austin's minutes. O played hard, but couldn't get anything to drop. See what I meant about crunch time? Nobody home. By the way, BobFinn*, you BRAGGART! ------------------
Yeah, but you also talked about Grant Long being a good performer, blocking shots, etc. Well, Long matched your predicted stat line for Taylor to a T....4 points, 2 boards, 4 fouls, 0 blocks. Now go away, or I will taunt you a second time! ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." [This message has been edited by HOOP-T (edited December 12, 2000).]
The Grizzlies are horrible because of their lack of bench depth. Just take a look at their bench on nba.com sometime, and you'll see why they suck. ------------------ Who's ya daddy?
