Memphis Grizzlies: The Forgotten Team Out West

As the NBA season is fast approaching many sites and experts are starting to rank the contenders in the West. One team is being left out of the discussion. This team brought back all the pieces that helped it reach the Western Conference Finals. Furthermore, it added a veteran who is a career 40 percent 3-point shooter. All the talk is about how good the Rockets will be with Dwight Howard, are the Spurs too old and has their championship window closed, have the Clippers taken the next step, or is it finally time for Kevin Durant to get his ring. Even the train wreck that is the Lakers is getting more play in the national media.

The Memphis Grizzlies were four wins away from playing in the Finals. They brought back every single member of their starting five and have added sharpshooter Mike Miller to help bulk up the bench.

Let’s spend some time dissecting the Grizzlies position by position for this upcoming 2013/2014 season.

Point Guards

Mike Conley Jr., is going into his seventh season as the starting point guard. This is a crucial year for Conley Jr., as he has shown flashes of being a top tier point guard; last year he averaged a career-high 14.6 points per game. However, he only shot 44 percent from the field and 36 percent from 3. Furthermore, in 2012-13 he took almost 300 3-pointers, also a career high. If Conley Jr. can start driving it to the basket more and shooting fewer 3s, he will not only help himself by bringing up his field goal percentage, in addition, he will be setting up his teammates. Presently there are very few point guards in the NBA that can stay in front of him one on one.

Jerryd Bayless is in similar shoes to Conley Jr.; he is starting his sixth season and showed good and bad flashes last year. Bayless played in a career-high 80 games last year, however, he only shot 42 percent from the field and 35 percent from behind the arc.  He is more of a shooting guard in a point guard body at 6’3” and his athletic ability has never been a question, but his shot selection is his big question going into this season.

Nick Calathes is starting his first year in the NBA after some time abroad playing professionally in both Russia and Greece. He has been playing about 20 minutes per game in the preseason, the best part of his playing time is he is averaging four assists per game. Therefore, with his play making ability this could simply give Bayless some playing time at the 2 and allow Bayless to play more off the ball.

Shooting Guards

Tony Allen was signed over the summer as a free agent for $20 million over four years and is back for his 10th year in the league. He is still one of the best defenders in the league and has been improving his offensive each year with the Grizzlies, averaging nine points a game over the past three years. In addition his leadership and motor make him a huge asset for any team, however, with the addition of Mike Miller it will be interesting to see how they will be used in late game situations.

Mike Miller is back for the Grizz and he is bringing some much needed shooting off the bench. Yes he played sparingly for the Heat last year, only 15 minutes per game in less than 60 games, but he also won some of the playoff and Finals games for them, helping them win back-to-back titles. Miller will help open up the floor with his career 40 percent 3-point shooting; this will give the big men fewer double teams.

Jamaal Franklin is a big time wildcard; he did just about everything for San Diego State last year. He will probably not see a whole lot of time his rookie year, but if injuries do happen he would be ready to step in and do whatever it takes to help this team.

Small Forwards

Tayshaun Prince will have his first full year with the Grizzlies this season. He is getting older, turning 34 during this upcoming season. Each year since 2010, his points per game have declined by almost two points each year, however, his assists and rebounds have stayed consistent. Prince will see less time this year with Quincy Pondexter playing better to start the year, but Prince will be able to contribute in the playoffs with all his experience.

Quincy Pondexter had a career year from behind the arc last year at just less than 40 percent. Furthermore, he has started off the preseason extremely hot, shooting 65 percent from the field and with Prince out with an illness, it is looking more and more like Pondexter could be starting come the start of the regular season.

Power Forwards

Zach Randolph had another double-double year and most people forget him when talking about the elite power forwards in the West. He did have major problems in the Western Conference finals against the big men of the Spurs, however, with the development of Pondexter and bringing in Miller he should have more space to operate in the paint.

Ed Davis showed some promise with this time in Toronto, averaging close to 10 points per game before the trade to Memphis. However, he has not shown the same promise in the little time in Memphis, for example in the last preseason game, he started and played almost 30 minutes and went 1-for-5 from the field and only had six points. Davis will need to play better if he wants to keep up his minutes off the bench.

Jon Leuer is a third-year big man trying to find a place to play on his third team in three years. Leuer has been playing well to start off; unlike Davis he has shot the ball better in less time. Leuer and Davis will be fighting for minutes most of the year at the power forward spot.

Centers

Marc Gasol is coming off of a great year, his numbers stayed consistent with his career averages and he won the Defensive Player of the Year. Gasol is one of the best passing centers in the league averaging a career-high four assists a game last year. In addition, with the offense going more up tempo he will be able to use his playmaking ability to help set up more teammates.

Kosta Koufos is coming in from Denver where he started 81 games, he also posted career highs in points (eight per game), rebounds (seven per game) and blocks (1.3 per game). However, Koufos is better suited as a backup center in the league, for this reason he will be a great fit on this team. He will be able to spell Gasol during the season, in addition Koufos and Gasol would play together against teams with big frontcourts.

Finally, first-year coach David Joerger will bring in some much needed change on the offensive end as the Grizzlies were the slowest team in the NBA last year in pace of play. Therefore, a more up tempo offense will help players like Conley Jr., Allen, and the entire bench. Then when they need to slow things down they can dump it into Randolph in the post or let Gasol make a play at the top of the key.

West is wide open with the Spurs aging, the Rockets needing time to jell with Howard, the Thunder need more help for Durant and the Clippers needing to stay healthy all year. My question is, why not the Grizzlies? They have the experience, depth and star power to make it to the Finals.

[slider_pro id=”15″]