::MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES SEASON THREAD: Grizzlies Waiting Before Offering Z-Bo Extension::

[airmaxpenny1]

Eric Gordon, Russell Westbrook, Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph, Derrick Rose, Brook Lopez>>>Oj Mayo

 

[queensfinest2002]

I still don't understand why AI or Randolph is on that squad taking shots away from the young guys, what part of rebuilding is that?

 

[bhzmafia14]

Originally Posted by airmaxpenny1

Eric Gordon, Russell Westbrook, Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph, Derrick Rose, Brook Lopez>>>Oj Mayo

Gasol > Gordon, Westbrook. Beasley, Randolph if we aregoing by first games.

I remember when OJ had 10 points in his first game last season and everybody was talking about how bad he was going to suck then he went off. OJ got fouledso much going to the rack, so about 5 or 6 of those attempts had todeal with him trying to draw the foul.

these guys still cant score.. Conley doesnt create *%#%.. Might as well have iverson run point.
People wonder why Memphis need more scorers. The bench still couldn't score and that's why I'm glad AI would be able to come in andchange that if he comes off the bench. Either way the rotations were so messed up because of early foul trouble from Z-Bo and Gasol. OJ and Rudy played thewhole first and Hollins left OJ in the 2nd. Rotations broke down and Hollins offense was stagnant. Conley was doing exactly what I thought he was gonna do andthat's dribble around.

The only bright spots were Randolph and Gasol. Randolph didn't look selfish at all and actually was playing with some fire. That's the most importantthing regarding him. I do expect OJ to play alot better next game though. Gay looked good, but stop looking for his shot in the 2nd half. Rip and BG were justunstoppable coming off the screens. We even went to a 1-2-2 after a while.

 

[memphisboi55]

Memphis checking in.

 

[Mound Raised]

^^^^your avy is killin my eyes.....lol

 

[bhzmafia14]

A.I. still not playing tonight, but will be ready for the road trip starting Sunday.

-OJ should have a better game tonight
-Conley will probably still be passive
-Hollins better not have OJ, Rudy and Z-Bo all out at the same time

This is definitely a winnable game. Memphis has a frontline that can definitely outscore Toronto's, but they just have to score more. I don't see themstopping Turk, Bosh and Bargz, but I don't see them stopping Gay, Z-Bo and Gasol.

 

[bhzmafia14]

great win.

conley with 10pts, 10asts and 6rebs.
randolph 30pts, 7rebs on 13-21 shooting
gay 17 pts, 9rebs
oj 18pts, 6rebs 3asts, 2stls
carroll 12pts
gasol 19pts and 7rebs


memphis outrebounded toronto +7 and they had 24 asts. that selfish team had 24 asts.

i don't know exactly how selfish the team will be when AI comes back, butthe first 2 games the team has definitely be looking for the open man.

this was a must win with a 5 game road trip in 7 days coming up and denver coming up sunday.

marcus williams looked good as well tonight. oj hit 2 big shots and some clutch FT's in the fourth. that's what i'm expecting out of him this yearto be our go-to-guy in the 4th. gasol had 19 and 7 while being in foul trouble the whole game only playing 25 minutes.

 

[henz0]

 

[Ruck13]

Originally Posted by henz0

 

[henz0]

Why the +*#$ did they draft Thabeet when they have 3 7 ft'ers

..

Could've taken Tyreke or even Curry

 

[mjshoefanatic]

Zbo should get yall to 50 wins E-Z!

 

[bhzmafia14]

Originally Posted by henz0

Why the +*#$ did they draft Thabeet when they have 3 7 ft'ers

..

Could've taken Tyreke or even Curry

and he not going to get any better ridin' the pine every game. it was just a bad pick and i'm still hoping for a trade early on because we need to lockgasol up long-term anyway. he's just going to get better and it will hurt thabeet's development. we need to trade thabeet away soon while people stillthink he has potential. knowing us, we will let gasol walk and keep thabeet.

 

[henz0]

I just watched the replay of the game last night since I missed it..

Carroll

OJ at the end of the 4th

Conley 10assists

 

[bhzmafia14]

i'm glad carroll finally got it together. he was missing some easy layups early on.

oj looked good down the stretch. it seems like he wants to be the go-to-guy down the stretch. i think he scored 10 of his 18 in the 4th.

 

[trevrob]

Cut Carrol immediately. This guy is pure garbage, doesn't flow with anyone, can't play defense, plays with his dreads on offensive. Thabeat is just asbad. He can't even get up and down the court, has no coordination at all, and looks so bad. I understand these guys need development, but that's why wehave a D-League. Carrol is logging minutes only because we don't have depth. Def not deserved. It sucks when these guys come in the game and blow leads ourstarters are working hard to get.

 

[bhzmafia14]

Updated: November 7, 2009, 2:19 AM ET

[h2]Iverson still wants to start[/h2]

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Associated Press


LOS ANGELES -- Even Allen Iverson is worried whether his tumultuous debut week with the Memphis Grizzlies has poisoned his relationship with another coach.

Iverson

Iverson came off the bench for Memphis for the third straight game Friday night, scoring eight points in 22 minutes during the Grizzlies' 114-98 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 10-time All-Star says he has no interest in being a reserve or playing for a rebuilding team, and he immediately made his displeasure public with several barbed comments in the days following his season debut Monday.

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins says he understands his new veteran guard's perspective, but even Iverson thinks the two are off to a rocky start.

"I think that's probably the worst part of all this," Iverson said Friday. "That while all this is going on, we have never talked to each other. That's probably why it's at this point right now. We've just never had a conversation, so it's probably going to always be hard for me and him to see eye-to-eye, because we've never even talked to each other. Obviously that's what you do if you're trying to accomplish the same goal."

Before and after the Grizzlies' fourth straight loss, Iverson showed bemused frustration at the trouble his words have caused since he returned from a torn right hamstring. Yet he doesn't back down from them: The Answer wants to start, and he also insists nobody told him the Grizzlies would be rebuilding after a 24-58 season.

And Iverson, who was passed Kobe Bryant for 16th place on the NBA's career scoring list Friday night, apparently doesn't feel it's his job to figure out a role in which he can help the Grizzlies.

"I'm not trying to figure out how to contribute to no team," Iverson said. "I contribute to a team by just playing. That's it. I don't have to figure it out. Obviously, they signed me for a reason. They've been watching me play this game for 13 years, and they know what I do on the basketball court, so I don't have to figure out how I'm going to play or anything like that. I just go out and play basketball."

Iverson believes his comments have caused a stir mostly because of his long history of provocative opinions and actions, from his infamous disdain for practice to a few lesser stirs in Denver and Detroit last season.

"When I hear anything about the Memphis Grizzlies, I don't hear you guys [media] talk about anything other than the situation with me coming off the bench," Iverson said. "I mean, there's got to be something else with this team to talk about besides that. But I guess that sells a lot better than anything else when it comes to this team."

Before the game, Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley shook hands with Iverson in the locker room Friday night and could be heard chatting about plans for a meeting with the veteran guard.

Heisley, who flew into Los Angeles earlier in the day, backed Hollins in the perceived dispute this week, saying the coach would handle the Grizzlies' rotation and calling Iverson's comments "inappropriate," according to The Commercial Appeal.

"Do I say all the right things all the time? I doubt it," Iverson said. "But the ultimate goal is to win games. That's the only thing it's about."

Hollins refused to speak about Iverson earlier in the week, but said Friday he has no problem with Iverson's pointed words. He also doesn't intend to have a special chat with Iverson.

"Every player has his opinion of his self-worth and what he expects, but I have to coach the whole team," Hollins said. "There's no need to talk to A.I. He's a competitor, and we're going to be fine. ... He has a right to say what he wants to say, and I have a right to say what I want."

Iverson got his first game action with the Grizzlies on Monday night in Sacramento, and he played 27 minutes off the bench against Golden State on Wednesday. Iverson entered Friday's game with 6:36 left in the first quarter, but played sparingly and spent much of the night yapping at the officials from the bench with a towel over his head.

"It's something that I never did in my life, so obviously it's a big adjustment," Iverson said of coming off the bench.

Memphis has one of the NBA's most intriguing young backcourts with Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo, but that talent hasn't translated into many victories. The Grizzlies have endured three straight losing seasons with 68 total victories following three straight trips to the playoffs.

Hollins realizes Iverson's role easily could change depending on injuries and the starters' effectiveness, but he doesn't seem inclined to promise a starting job to Iverson or any player.

"Roles change, positions change," Hollins said. "He's a prideful person that believes in himself. Every player wants to play a starting role, and a player of his caliber especially."

At this point, Memphis needs to put their most talented lineup out on the floor. For anybody who has watched the Grizzlies consistently this season, they will know the Grizz main problems.

- Demarre Carroll getting too many minutes and he's basically a decoy out there on offense.
- Sam Young and Steven Hunter getting too few minutes at the 3 and 4 spot.
- Lack of team defense
- Iverson needs to get 30 minutes a night
- Thabeet is a wasted pick at this point. Shouldn't have drafted him and got someone that could be effective NOW.
- Haddadi should play more
- Lack of respect from the refs
- Bad coaching

The good:

- Randolph may be bad on defense naturally, but he's been doing his part and really wants to win.
- Gasol is looking great.
- We have one of the best rebounding teams in the league
- Rudy is shooting 50% from the field and averaging 20ppg
- OJ and AI actually look pretty good together. They should play more together.

Memphis has had bad luck being faced with the top 3 scorers in the league through the first 5 games allowing OJ and Rudy to get torched early on. This will be OJ's most evenly match up tonight against the Clippers going against Gordon. OJ's defense has been decent this season, but due to him guarding two of the best scorers in the game, he hasn't been able to show it because they go off against anybody else that guard him.

Heisley doesn't understand why the team is 1-4 and I honestly don't either. The team could've easily beat Sacramento, but it was bad coaching. Substitution patterns and no double teaming. I didn't get a chance to see the Warriors game, so I don't know what went wrong there.

The ball is being evenly distributed across the board. Memphis has 3 players averaging 20ppg (Rudy, Z-Bo, OJ) and Gasol is averaging 16 a night with Iverson averaging a little under 13. We have one of the best rebounding teams in the league, but we turn the ball over so much and most of the time its unforced turnovers.

So, while most people thought the team wouldn't be good due to the play of Randolph and Iverson is actually wrong. It's the coaching, team defense and not finishing games out like they should. The problems are listed above and everytime Carroll shoots the ball just make me cringe.

 

[henz0]

" Zach looks almost skinny "

 

[bangdak]

best rebounding team? what on earth?

now excuse me, i havnt watched any memphis games as of now but damn. gasol's stats are looking

lately though. how is he? is he capable of playingthe 4 so that hasheem or whatever can play the 5?

 

[i nasmatic i]

Marc's played very well, a lot quicker than last season to go with his already polished skills. I don't think he has the lateral quickness to stay withPFs though.

 

[memphisboi55]

Originally Posted by BangDak

best rebounding team? what on earth?

now excuse me, i havnt watched any memphis games as of now but damn. gasol's stats are looking

lately though. how is he? is he capable of playing the 4 so that hasheem or whatever can play the 5?

So funny?



[table][tr][td]
3
[/td] [td]
Memphis
[/td] [td]
6
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
45.50
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
38.33
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
+7.16
[/td] [/tr][/table]




#3 in the league in rebounding.




[table][tr][td]
5
[/td] [td]
Memphis
[/td] [td]
6
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
105.16
[/td] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr][/table]

#5 scoring team.

 

[henz0]

If (Big if ) this team could play a lick of D ( 100PPG ) or at least cut their TO's down they'd be a whole lot better

Gay

Even clippers announcers saying grizz shouldve drafted Evans

 

[true 3 blue]

@ that dunk by Rudy Gay

 

[memphisboi55]

Video?
link?

 

[memphisboi55]

3 players in the top 25 in scoring..

Z-bo is impressing me, i doubted him before the season. Dude is doing #'s


[h3]2009-10 Statistics[/h3]PPG 20.5 RPG 10.50 APG 3.0 EFF + 24.17

 

[true 3 blue]

Rudy Gay is a chuck.