The Grizzlies Report

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嗯看到這篇當然二話不說就是貼在這 FYI ^^ http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_7338.shtml The Grizzlies Report By Robert Ducklo for HOOPSWORLD.com Since Hubie Brown took over as the coach of the Grizzlies in November of 2002, he has employed a 10 (or sometimes even 11) man rotation despite criticism from pundits and fans. It’s just not done that was in the NBA – you play eight or maybe nine guys and let the others ride the pine. After all, your stars need minutes. Of course, Brown ignored this sentiment and played two rotations of five. He altered it somewhat as this season progressed and now he seems to be using situational substitutions as all of the players have gotten used to playing together. However, he has stuck with playing 10 guys per night and who can argue with the results? The Grizzlies are 33-22 (.600) and are sitting in 6th place in the Western Conference. But in the past few weeks the injury bug bit and it bit hard. Mike Miller is on the injured list with a back injury and – despite his protestations to the contrary – Hubie seems worried about whether he should play again this season. While the short term goal is to win as many as possible as soon as possible, the Grizzlies have invested a reported $48 million in Miller over the next six seasons. There’s no doubt that the front office does not want to have another Big Country Reeves or Michael Dickerson on their hands, so it’s logical to think that they will be very careful with Miller for the rest of the season. Then on Saturday night, Stromile Swift came down awkwardly on his ankle, prompting a trip to the training room. While any Griz observer from 2001-2002 can remember when Stro’s injuries were a nightly occurrence, the Stro Show has been pretty consistent this season, so you must take this injury somewhat seriously. What this means is that the second unit lacks any sort of scoring punch. Earl Watson and Dahntay Jones can’t shoot, Shane Battier is a complementary player, Bo Outlaw is “offensively-challenged” and Jake Tsakalidis is a big fella with a some what limited offensive game. This was very clear in the game at Chicago where the Bull erased a 22 point margin in the third quarter as the Grizzlies second unit simply couldn’t put the ball in the basket. Hubie realized this and went with Jason Williams, Bonzi Wells, James Posey, Pau Gasol and Lorenzen Wright throughout almost all of the 4th quarter. So here I am – a big proponent of the ten man rotation – committing heresy by saying: Hubie, shorten the rotation. Sure Watson, Outlaw and Jake can still get 12-15 minutes per game and Battier should get substantial minutes, but the Grizzlies need to only give guys like Jones and Troy Bell minutes in blow-out situations. Jones remains a terrible shooter and decision maker (though he is a good defender and spectacular on the break). This isn’t his fault – he was a poor shooter in college and he hasn’t gotten much additional experience in his first season in the NBA. Giving Jones minutes would’ve been fine two years ago when legends like Rodney Buford and Willie Solomon were firing up bricks from the two guard position. But the Grizzlies are in the playoff hunt, they’re playing well and gutting out wins and they need to get their veterans used to playing more minutes in preparation for the playoffs. It looked like Brown reached a similar conclusion in the Chicago game when he played each starter more than 30 minutes as the Griz quelled the Bulls run and went on to win by seven. This needs to continue in the coming weeks as the Grizzlies face tough game after tough game (Denver, Milwaukee, New Orleans, San Antonio and a four game west coast road trip in the next two weeks) and try to build towards the playoffs. While the rotation has served its purpose, it’s time to shorten the bench until the team gets back to full strength. ============================================================================= 接下來是這星期賽程的preview ============================================================================= This Week Monday, February 23 vs Denver (32-25) The Nuggets come into Memphis on a losing streak after dropping two in Florida. Still, this game should be a close one as the previous three between these two teams have been this season. The most recent Griz-Nuggets match-up was a turnover laden affair, but the game was competitive as the Nuggets eeked out a three point win. The Griz need to win to get a split in the season series. Last five: 3-2 with wins over the Grizzlies, at Portland and over Philadelphia and road losses to Orlando and Miami. Player to watch: Andre Miller typically plays well against the Grizzlies as he uses his bulk to post up Jason Williams at will. The Griz also should keep an eye on newly acquired center Michael Doleac a- it’s hard to imagine Doleac fitting in well to the Nuggets up-tempo style, but he’s likely going to get some minutes. Wednesday, February 25 vs Golden State (24-30) The Warriors and Grizzlies seem to always play close games – this season the Grizzlies have won both encounters by a combined 7 points. Though a bit less athletic than in the past, the Warriors seem to play better when led by point guard Speedy Claxton. Additionally, shooting guard Jason Richardson seems to be coming into his own. Mike Dunleavy is questionable as he has sat out the past few games with an ankle injury. Last five: 3-2 with two wins over Seattle and a win over Phoenix and one-point losses to the Lakers and Portland. Player to watch: While Erick Dampier puts up a nightly double-double, new starter Brian Cardinal really has played well of late, averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds per game over the past five games. His hustle and grit make him a better version of Bo Outlaw. Friday, February 27 at Milwaukee (29-26) The Bucks have struggled a little bit lately, but still look to be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. The biggest change for this Milwaukee team is the addition of Keith Van Horn who was traded for an underachieving Tim Thomas. Van Horn should give the Bucks a better inside game as they can play him at small forward or power forward with their rotating centers – Daniel Santiago, Brian Skinner and Dan Gadzuric. Last five: 2-3 with wins over Washington and Orlando and losses to Sacramento, the Clippers and at Detroit. Player to watch: Joe Smith didn’t play in the game in Memphis and he could provide additional bulk which the Grizzlies will struggle to counter. Though Smith hasn’t been a huge scoring threat, he has averaged 11 rebounds per game over the past 5 game. Saturday, February 28, New Orleans (30-25) The Hornets are battling for playoff seeding in the East, so this game should be intense. Jamal Mashburn is back and adds scoring punch that the Hornets lacked at times. However, Mash plays better in an isolation-oriented half court game which the Hornets have tried to ditch in favor of a Princeton-style motion offense. The question is whether Mashburn adapts to this new style of play. Last five: 3-2 with wins over New York, at Indiana and over Washington and losses at Milwaukee and New Jersey. Player to watch: While Baron Davis makes the Hornets go, Jamaal Magloire presents a match-up challenge in the middle (along with forward P.J. Brown). Magloire was an All-Star this season and he’s a pretty reliable double-double guy. As with many of the Grizzlies games down the stretch, success may be based on whether they can match-up with opposing big men. ============================================================================= Notes The Griz are in sixth place in the Western Conference and are one and a half games ahead of Houston and two games ahead of Denver. Of course, this makes tonight’s game against Denver all the more important. James Posey continues to show that he’s the heart and soul of these Grizzlies with his amazing effort over the past week. Since the All-Star Break he’s averaged 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals per game while shooting over 50% from the field. The trading deadline came and went with the Griz not making any deals. The popular rumors were that the Griz were sending Stomile Swift and Shane Battier to either Golden State (for Erick Dampier) or Seattle (for Vladimir Radmanovic and Jerome James). With team chemistry as good as it is, it’s probably a good thing that the Griz didn’t make any deals. But expect to see the acquisition of a bruiser (Dampier, James or someone else) this summer. Geoff Calkins has a nice article on the late noted local radio call-in listener “Mary from Midtown”. She was a local fixture on the call-in shows for years and I was just thinking the other day that I hadn’t heard her in awhile. Mary’s enthusiasm will be missed. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 218.14.51.151