[Game] Grizzlies @ Kings - 11/3/15 - 7 PST, 10 EST
- Thread starter VF21
- Start date
The thing about the Grizzlies is that they're an old team that's never been one of the better offensive squads in the league.
Up front, Marc Gasol is still very good but not exactly one prone to explosive bursts of game-taking-overness. Z-Bo has started off the season looking like Father Time is really starting to sink his teeth into him and Vlade's poaching of Koufus has left a gaping hole in their frontcourt rotation that Brandan Wright can't completely fill. Behind those three, the Grizzlies do have a bit of young energetic junkballer guys in Jarnell Stokes and JaMychal Green (not a typo) but I'd probably rate both of those guys a bit below Eric Moreland in terms of prospective NBA careers, which is probably just the homer in me talking.
Adding Matt Barnes helped them further build up the tough defensive image of their squad but did nothing to mask the fact that the Grizzlies feature a wingman rotation of offensively inept and aging top-five defender (Allen)/steady but unspectacular role player (Lee)/guy who most of Memphis wants to kill (Jeff Green)/ and aging tough guy whose season highlight involves him fighting Derrick Fisher. Oh, and apparently 500-year-old Vince Carter is still on the roster. In other words, no one who really makes you quiver in fear at the prospect of a fifty point explosion.
Mike Conley is perhaps the most underrated point guard in the league but he's also now being forced to be the first option on offense this year while also continuing to be a great defender. Playing against our two-headed point guard monster of Rondo and DC a day after playing Steph Curry, he could conceivably die of exhaustion halfway into the second quarter and Beno, while still a solid bench guard, would probably lose to Marco Bellineli in the defensively incapable gawky European white guy Olympics.
This could be the year when the Uglyball Grizzlies have a bit of a bottoming out. Then again, after I write this, they'll probably rattle off a huge win streak and go back to being a contender for the Finals this season.
Up front, Marc Gasol is still very good but not exactly one prone to explosive bursts of game-taking-overness. Z-Bo has started off the season looking like Father Time is really starting to sink his teeth into him and Vlade's poaching of Koufus has left a gaping hole in their frontcourt rotation that Brandan Wright can't completely fill. Behind those three, the Grizzlies do have a bit of young energetic junkballer guys in Jarnell Stokes and JaMychal Green (not a typo) but I'd probably rate both of those guys a bit below Eric Moreland in terms of prospective NBA careers, which is probably just the homer in me talking.
Adding Matt Barnes helped them further build up the tough defensive image of their squad but did nothing to mask the fact that the Grizzlies feature a wingman rotation of offensively inept and aging top-five defender (Allen)/steady but unspectacular role player (Lee)/guy who most of Memphis wants to kill (Jeff Green)/ and aging tough guy whose season highlight involves him fighting Derrick Fisher. Oh, and apparently 500-year-old Vince Carter is still on the roster. In other words, no one who really makes you quiver in fear at the prospect of a fifty point explosion.
Mike Conley is perhaps the most underrated point guard in the league but he's also now being forced to be the first option on offense this year while also continuing to be a great defender. Playing against our two-headed point guard monster of Rondo and DC a day after playing Steph Curry, he could conceivably die of exhaustion halfway into the second quarter and Beno, while still a solid bench guard, would probably lose to Marco Bellineli in the defensively incapable gawky European white guy Olympics.
This could be the year when the Uglyball Grizzlies have a bit of a bottoming out. Then again, after I write this, they'll probably rattle off a huge win streak and go back to being a contender for the Finals this season.
Conversely, a strong, old-fashioned bully big like Z-Bo is the type of guy who could give WCS fits (and oddly enough the type of guy who Jason Thompson thrived in defending). While WCS is already a great rim protector and displays the team defensive awareness of a ten-year-vet, there's not much he can do when being backed down by a 260-pound grinder.
1) don't entirely ignore the possibility Cuz's tweet was about Terrence Ross signing for $11 mil per. He seemed to react similarly when Tristan Thomas got hsi stupid money last week.
2) I will say again that the Grizzlies have NOT looked good at any point so far, and they have a ton of age on them. you don't go from a 50 win team to nothing overnight, but you can certainly start catching cases of the drabs when half your team is in its mid-30s. Do agree however that getting crushed is going to put pressure on the Grizz to try to bounce back. Just have to hope they see us as an easy prey without Cuz
2) I will say again that the Grizzlies have NOT looked good at any point so far, and they have a ton of age on them. you don't go from a 50 win team to nothing overnight, but you can certainly start catching cases of the drabs when half your team is in its mid-30s. Do agree however that getting crushed is going to put pressure on the Grizz to try to bounce back. Just have to hope they see us as an easy prey without Cuz
They really have not looked good this year at any point, not even in the games they have won. Drab drab drab, and with no explosions at all. Zbo is 35. He might not be a 15ppg scorer anymore. More like an aging David West figure. Gasol, I agree, last year was kind of pretending to be an offensive star, but is off to a slow start being his normal 14ppg not terribly efficient self. LOT of age on this team. Have to figure that will become "experience" at some point as they semi-right this ship, but one of the possibilities for Memphis this season was always that they slipped backward into a 40-something win team. I had thought that meant like a 47 win team. But they have been playing like it might mean a Dallas falloff to a 41 win type team.
K
Hopefully the Grizz keep sucking cause last time they got blown out they came back to stomp Indiana. Scoring wise they guys should not be able to hang with us there bench literally aside from Jeff Green who is literally as passive as Ben most the time is garbage. Although off course I have to factor in the fact Vince Carter no matter what always plays superhuman against us.
If DC/Casspi/Belli play well we should be able to beat them by 5-10 points.
If DC/Casspi/Belli play well we should be able to beat them by 5-10 points.
I doubt the Grizzlies shoot .271 two nights in a row. Nor will they go 3 for 23 from the three point line. No Grizz player logged more than 26 minutes. The starters sat the whole 4th quarter. This is not a normal back to back
All that said the Kings can win if they play as well as they did against the Clippers.
All that said the Kings can win if they play as well as they did against the Clippers.
Kinda what I was thinking. Memphis getting destroyed by GS last night does not bode well for our efforts tonight. Them gonna be some angry Grizzlies I bet.
That being said, it will make it an even more impressive win if they can pull it off. At some point Ben is gonna have to hit some shots. Lets hope tonight is the night.
That being said, it will make it an even more impressive win if they can pull it off. At some point Ben is gonna have to hit some shots. Lets hope tonight is the night.