Memphis Grizzlies: The Preseason Award Envelope, Please

It is time for the weekly Tuesday Morning Point Guard column to cover the Grizzlies over the past week. Also with the NBA season starting today, there is a ton of anticipation for all fans, especially Memphis coming off the best season in its history. The Grizzlies are opening tomorrow night at San Antonio, then on to a big month of November. Like last week, we will be handing out some awards–based on the NFL.

The Josh Freeman Award

Josh Freeman is currently a quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings; in his last game he only completed 38 percent of his passes, going 20-of-53. He looked like he could not hit any of his receivers, for this reason I am comparing the whole Grizzlies team to him in their last two preseason games. During the Houston Rocket game on Oct.25 at home in Memphis, the Grizzlies shot only 32 percent from the field. Furthermore, they shot 13 percent from 3 and 67 percent from the free throw line, this with the starters playing into the third quarter. One stat to keep an eye on early for the Grizzlies is fast break points; coach Dave Joerger talked about more up-tempo.

Dave Joerger was an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies for six years after leading the Dakota Wizards to the NBA D-League title in 2007. (NBA.com photo)

However, during the last two games they only had two fast break points in the first game and the second game only five. They will need to get this stat to double digits, because through their defense it should be able to get the fast break started. This is something I will be watching closely for the first couple of weeks.

The Atlanta Falcons Award

At the beginning of the year most NFL experts picked the Falcons to be a team to compete for a Super Bowl, especially after getting to the NFC Championship. They started off this season looking like that team; however, with injuries and poor play they now look like a team that will struggle to win five games this year. The Memphis Grizzlies remind many people of the Falcons, not a flashy team, just very consistent in many areas. As you look through the rankings and previews most of them have the Grizzlies in the middle of the playoffs again pushing towards a championship. Therefore, this is where they need to separate themselves from the Falcons and step up and show they have what it takes to take the next step. Again the first two months of the season will show a lot about what kind of team the Grizzlies are and will be.

Things to Watch the First Week

Here are a few things to look for as the season starts.

• The touches of Marc Gasol on offense. He is the best passer on the team; putting the ball in his hands will help the flow of the offense.
• 3-point shooting. Adding Mike Miller should help but if the Grizzlies can shoot a better percentage early it will give the bigs room to operate.
• Quincy Pondexter. He is the key to the offense; his ability to shoot the ball and put it on the floor gives the Grizz an athletic player that could make up for Rudy Gay’s absence.

I cannot remember a more anticipated season for so many teams. It could be a NBA season for the ages and I am so glad I get to be a witness to it all.

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