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1. Is Mike Fratello the right man to coach the Grizzlies?
As long as he doesn't revert back to his Cavaliers days and try to bleed the shot clock on every possession in an effort to lull his opponents to sleep, Fratello should turn out to be a good fit for the Grizzlies. He's got experience. He's got enough cachet to get players to listen to him. And he's familiar with Hubie Brown's system, since he was an assistant to Brown during their days with the Hawks.
Memphis boss Jerry West wanted someone who could step right in and get the Grizz ship righted in time so they can still make the playoffs. Fratello is equipped to accomplish that goal. As a TV analyst he has stayed around the NBA. He knows the league and the personnel. Like Brown did two years ago, he should have no trouble making the jump back to the sidelines.
Fratello's big challenge will be getting certain Grizzlies players to accept lesser roles. Memphis needs to scale back somewhat on Hubie's old 10-man rotation system and go with a more conventional approach. That means more minutes for Pau Gasol, and perhaps Earl Watson at the point. Obviously, though, that means less time for some other players, most notably Jason Williams. Fratello's experience should help him smooth over most issues in the locker room, but it's no guarantee he'll succeed. Williams already has griped about the Grizz' coaching philosophy this season, and he might not take kindly to a lesser role under the Czar. Bonzi Wells also could be a problem if his role diminishes. But Fratello, with Eric Musselman as his top lieutenant, stands a better chance than anybody else out there to smooth over those locker-room issues and get the Grizzlies back on track and into the playoffs.
2. Which coach will be gone next?
Knicks coach Lenny Wilkens has to be sitting on the hottest seat right now. Team boss Isiah Thomas already has made changes to Wilkens' coaching staff, jettisoning longtime assistant Dick Helm in the very first week of the season. Thomas also came out recently and said he expects the team to be .500 after the first 20 games. After Thursday's win over Memphis, the Knicks were 8-6.
Several of the other coaches said to be on the hot seat in the preseason have so far managed to quell the talk. Denver's Jeff Bzdelik and Sacramento's Rick Adelman each has his respective squad playing better after shaky starts. Seattle's Nate McMillan has likewise scuttled talk of his demise by guiding his Sonics to a 14-3 start through Wednesday and the top spot in the Northwest Division. Although those coaches certainly still could find themselves in trouble again later, the heat is off for now.
Given those job-saving starts, it's possible we won't see as much turnover in the coaching ranks in 2004-05. Last year at this time, we already had three coaching changes (Stan Van Gundy for Pat Riley; Johnny Davis for Doc Rivers; Scott Skiles for Bill Cartwright). By the All-Star break, five more head coaches had bitten the dust (Don Chaney, Frank Johnson, Byron Scott, Jim O'Brien and Randy Ayers). But with so many new hires since last year, there just aren't that many coaches who have been around long enough now to get canned.
3. Are the Sonics for real?
Let's just say they're better than their preseason predictions. The Sonics still have no real inside game and they rely too much on their outside shooting to stay atop the West all season. But they have done a much better job rebounding and defending the interior than many of the experts predicted. The additions of Danny Fortson and Nick Collison have added a measure of toughness and board work inside. Fortson, in particular, is a rebounding machine who seems to get in the heads of opponents. In the Sonics' loss in Portland on Tuesday night, the game turned in the Blazers' favor after Fortson was ejected and the lane opened up for Portland's big men.
Seattle is no doubt one of the NBA's best shooting teams. Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Ridnour and Antonio Daniels all have been burning the nets, especially from downtown. As of Wednesday the Sonics led the NBA in 3-point accuracy with a whopping 39.2 percent mark.
Seattle's early schedule also has broken right for them. Their last two wins, for example, have come against the suspension-ravaged Pacers and the Andrei Kirilenko-less Jazz. They also have beaten the Nets and Raptors twice, and the struggling Grizzlies twice (to go with impressive wins over the Spurs and T'wolves).
The bottom line is that Seattle is going to have to continue to make a lot of outside shots to keep up this pace. Otherwise, their lack of a low-post game will come back to haunt them. But as long as Fortson and Collison stay healthy, Seattle has the look of a playoff team at least -- and that's better than most everybody thought before the season.
Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com.
1. Is Mike Fratello the right man to coach the Grizzlies?
As long as he doesn't revert back to his Cavaliers days and try to bleed the shot clock on every possession in an effort to lull his opponents to sleep, Fratello should turn out to be a good fit for the Grizzlies. He's got experience. He's got enough cachet to get players to listen to him. And he's familiar with Hubie Brown's system, since he was an assistant to Brown during their days with the Hawks.
Memphis boss Jerry West wanted someone who could step right in and get the Grizz ship righted in time so they can still make the playoffs. Fratello is equipped to accomplish that goal. As a TV analyst he has stayed around the NBA. He knows the league and the personnel. Like Brown did two years ago, he should have no trouble making the jump back to the sidelines.
Fratello's big challenge will be getting certain Grizzlies players to accept lesser roles. Memphis needs to scale back somewhat on Hubie's old 10-man rotation system and go with a more conventional approach. That means more minutes for Pau Gasol, and perhaps Earl Watson at the point. Obviously, though, that means less time for some other players, most notably Jason Williams. Fratello's experience should help him smooth over most issues in the locker room, but it's no guarantee he'll succeed. Williams already has griped about the Grizz' coaching philosophy this season, and he might not take kindly to a lesser role under the Czar. Bonzi Wells also could be a problem if his role diminishes. But Fratello, with Eric Musselman as his top lieutenant, stands a better chance than anybody else out there to smooth over those locker-room issues and get the Grizzlies back on track and into the playoffs.
2. Which coach will be gone next?
Knicks coach Lenny Wilkens has to be sitting on the hottest seat right now. Team boss Isiah Thomas already has made changes to Wilkens' coaching staff, jettisoning longtime assistant Dick Helm in the very first week of the season. Thomas also came out recently and said he expects the team to be .500 after the first 20 games. After Thursday's win over Memphis, the Knicks were 8-6.
Several of the other coaches said to be on the hot seat in the preseason have so far managed to quell the talk. Denver's Jeff Bzdelik and Sacramento's Rick Adelman each has his respective squad playing better after shaky starts. Seattle's Nate McMillan has likewise scuttled talk of his demise by guiding his Sonics to a 14-3 start through Wednesday and the top spot in the Northwest Division. Although those coaches certainly still could find themselves in trouble again later, the heat is off for now.
Given those job-saving starts, it's possible we won't see as much turnover in the coaching ranks in 2004-05. Last year at this time, we already had three coaching changes (Stan Van Gundy for Pat Riley; Johnny Davis for Doc Rivers; Scott Skiles for Bill Cartwright). By the All-Star break, five more head coaches had bitten the dust (Don Chaney, Frank Johnson, Byron Scott, Jim O'Brien and Randy Ayers). But with so many new hires since last year, there just aren't that many coaches who have been around long enough now to get canned.
3. Are the Sonics for real?
Let's just say they're better than their preseason predictions. The Sonics still have no real inside game and they rely too much on their outside shooting to stay atop the West all season. But they have done a much better job rebounding and defending the interior than many of the experts predicted. The additions of Danny Fortson and Nick Collison have added a measure of toughness and board work inside. Fortson, in particular, is a rebounding machine who seems to get in the heads of opponents. In the Sonics' loss in Portland on Tuesday night, the game turned in the Blazers' favor after Fortson was ejected and the lane opened up for Portland's big men.
Seattle is no doubt one of the NBA's best shooting teams. Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Ridnour and Antonio Daniels all have been burning the nets, especially from downtown. As of Wednesday the Sonics led the NBA in 3-point accuracy with a whopping 39.2 percent mark.
Seattle's early schedule also has broken right for them. Their last two wins, for example, have come against the suspension-ravaged Pacers and the Andrei Kirilenko-less Jazz. They also have beaten the Nets and Raptors twice, and the struggling Grizzlies twice (to go with impressive wins over the Spurs and T'wolves).
The bottom line is that Seattle is going to have to continue to make a lot of outside shots to keep up this pace. Otherwise, their lack of a low-post game will come back to haunt them. But as long as Fortson and Collison stay healthy, Seattle has the look of a playoff team at least -- and that's better than most everybody thought before the season.
Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com.
