While browsing rosters playing "what if" center trade scenarios that would benefit the Rockets, I was struck by the Memphis paradox. Logically, they should be strong as goat's breath. Their roster is studded with lottery picks: Swift (#2); Pau (#3); Battier (#6); Williams (#7); and Reeves (#7, I think). Dickerson was a #14 and Lorenzen Wright was a #7 in 1996. Brevin Knight is not chopped liver, and Fotsis may turn out to be as effective for them as Morris will be for the Rockets. Ike Austin may still awake from his long sleep, but the rest are chaff. Still, what keeps them at the bottom and are there any lessons there for the Rockets?
Yep, as long as there are 12 players on the team willing to give 11%, then we should win 132 games this season.
This has nothing to do with your math lessons. unless you can figure the odds of the Griz having a null hand with high picks.
A few points... 1. Its too early to judge swift. He's young and will atleast warrant being the second pick in that weak draft. 2. Battier is a bad ass. If Williams gets the ball to him...the Grizz will win some games. Future allstar..not perenial material, but he'll make it once or twice even if I have to vote 1,000,000 times. 3. Gasol is probaly two years away from helping. 4. Williams may bring some passion to memphis. 5. Dickerson is a solid player. I wish he was still a rocket. Memphis has done a decent job with there picks besides Reeves. This is a good young team that is probably two years behind the rockets from being a good team. If Francis had gone to Vanc...the grizzle would be a much better team and still in Vanc. The rockets would have a starting backcourt of Mobley and Dickerson. Othella would probably be the PF still. Francis has changed a lot.
I think the lesson is that talent alone isn't enough to win. A franchise needs to know how to use the talent to maximum effect to win consistently. That means maintaining good morale and atmosphere, having good coaching, and getting players that fit together in a unit. Vancouver had bad morale and a losing atmosphere at least. These are two things the Rockets are very good at and you can see it in the W-L column.
I think the thing the Grizzlies lack the most is a single player who believes that, no matter what, they will lead their team to victory. It's like the first round of the play-offs two years ago when Sacramento put a real scare into the Lakers. Chris Webber absolutely took over as the alpha male on the court. For a few quarters he believed, and made us believe, that he would single handedly beat the Lakers. Allen Iverson does that for the 76er's and Steve Francis has got to do it for the Rockets. He has the swagger, he has the game, and he has the will to win (last and most important ingredient). Once the role players are comfortably in place, and Rudy realizes that he has got to give Steve the ball late in games and not Mobley, then we will start to win games in bunches. IMHO.
I thought the Grizzly question was, "Is the Grizzly bear really indigenous to Tennessee?" I don't think Vancouver is really that talented. Yeah, they have some lotto pick and high first round players, but where a player gets drafted isn't always reflective on how they'll play in the NBA. Look at your Joe Smith's, your Carlos Rogers', etc. Even as bad as they were, they just got rid of their best player and a solid PG. I think we'll still see the Grizz in the NBA basement.
Yeah, but are these high-pick Grizzlies not living up to expectations because they aren't as good as billed when they were picked or is it because playing for the Grizzlies has kept them from fulfilling their potential?
Hard to say. They've never really had a leader. I think Abdur-Rahim played well for them. I also think Bibby played solid and consistent. Both these guys played to their draft status in my opinion. Then you have Dickerson, who has kept his solid stats intact after leaving Houston for Vancouver...errrr....Memphis. Reeves? He should never have been picked that high, but he has not lived up to his billing for whatever reason. The others, Gasol, Battier (although not as much of a mystery), and Swift.....I think it's too early to tell if they'll live up to expectations. Jason Williams? Well, he started his career strong with his exciting flashy play, but tapered off in Sac. Maybe he will revive his career in Memphis. Something is wrong with the team, whether it be chemistry, the coaching staff, the playbook, whatever.....something is missing. Some of the players put up good numbers for them. But as I said, they lost their two best players, and I think they are still without a leader.
Is that where Davy Crockett "kilt a bar when he was only 3?" Incidententally, Backwardhead, thanks for your astute thoughts, particularly regarding Francis.
I think the lesson is don't underrated and underappreciate Rudy T. I think his coaching shows that he isn't just a product of Hakeem's great years, but that he's one of the best and most versatile coaches in the NBA.
Had that vancover team had a good coach, wilkins,karl, or any other good coach, that team could have and should have won 40 games. They had 1 allstar, 1player close to being an all star, and a couple of real solid role players. A team like that should win at least 40games with a good coach. Hell, their starting 5 had more talent than ours.
Isn't Cat exactly that player? Maybe Rudy agrees that you should give the ball to the one with the will to win, and that is why Mobes is the goto guy.
Does that mean that Rudy considers Mobley the leader or the best player on the team? I don't know. I would imagine that was the case if Rudy keeps giving the ball to Cat in the last 2 minutes. I know he has the swagger, and the speed, but I can't really believe that he's our "Alpha Male". I think Cat's great, but I cringe everytime I see him with the ball in the last 2 minutes. I really wish it was Steve, his decision making just seems so much better, as does his FG%. I personally don't believe we're ever gonna reach our potential until Steve is given the role of "go to guy" at the end of games.
The basketball coach was Mr. B and I only played soccer 1 year and my coach then was M Bennet, so I don't know what Mr. Waugh's approach to sports was. Maybe it was something that he taught me through Lord of the Flies?
Heh i wouldnt underestimate the 'grizzles' at the moment, all these lottery picks will pay off some day.. i know its early but they are on top of our division standings in the preseason..
The Gizzards were not that talented relative to the League. Check their components: LAST YEAR Starters: C-About the very worst PF-About the very worst SF-Very good, in the top 1/4 SG-Above average, in the 2nd quater PG-Above average to average Bench: Frontline--bottom quarter Backcourt--bottom quater THIS YEAR: C-Bottom quater PF-Bottom quater (assuming Swift/Gasol can produce a little) SF-Third 1/4 to bottom quater SG-Above average, in the 2nd quater PG-Average to third 1/4 Frontline--3rd quarter Backcourt--bottom quater The current Gizzards have only 1 player who is solidly above average for his position in the West, and that is MD. And even he is not an individually dominant offensive player (like Iverson, Kobe, Carter, Allen, Spree, Houston, Finley, McGrady or even Mobley), more of a refined complimentary player that fed off what others create. The only player the Gizzards had like this was SAR, and well, they traded him for potential not PLAYERS. Couting on Battier, Gasol and Swift may help in the long run, but those guys suck in terms of being compared with other league starters at their position right now.
You don't have the problem the Grizz has, and you probably won't unless the team is sold. Quite simply, there's no vision in the front office. What kind of team are they trying to build? Whose applying the iron hammer when things get out of whack? No one, because there is no plan, and thus they don't know when it's out of whack. They just draft players and stick them togather and hope they work. What is a pat riley time? Tough and conditioned. A phil jackson team? Teamwork. VC? Nothing. They never even made an attempt to get a franchise baller to build around.
