| Grisly Start for Grizzlies |
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| Written by Matthew Noe |
| Thursday, 29 October 2009 11:20 |
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Wow. That was just horrible. HORRIBLE. So many things went wrong with the Grizzlies on opening night, that I'd be here for days to try to list them. When the regular season starts, individual matchups come to the forefront as the most important aspect of game planning and execution and opening night was no exception. Did the Grizzlies do anything worthwhile on opening night at FedEx Forum?  They outrebounded (or, I could say more accurately, ZBo and Marc Gasol outrebounded) the Pistons rather handily after a rocky start on the boards the first few minutes of the game. It didn't hurt, of course, that Ben Wallace is a cracked shell of his former self, Kwame Brown is Kwame Brown, Maxiell is a bull in a china shop, and Charlie Villanueva will never be known as a rebounding specialist. Well, that's about it. The Grizzlies really stunk up the joint. One of my first thoughts as the game got away completely in the third quarter was "wow, it looks like the Grizzlies think it's still preseason". The reason for this? Pure speed. Speed. Down to every single movement a player executes on the court. Inbounding the ball, bringing the ball upcourt after a made basket, RUNNING OFF SCREENS ON BOTH ENDS OF THE COURT, guarding a man intensely hand- and foot-wise ,dribbling, releasing a shot, etc., etc. Laziness, lack of polish, lack of coaching preparation? HOW COULD ANY NBA PLAYER NOT KNOW WHAT RIP HAMILTON AND BEN GORDON ARE GOING TO DO ON OFFENSE? Granted, they're two of the very, very best at what they do...but when you know exactly what's going to happen, you should be able to make at least a marginal effort to stop it, which did not happen. It was never any mystery to anyone that Hamilton and Gordon were going to eat our (Oompa-Loompa-esque) backcourt alive, but the degree to which it happened surprised, I think, even the most cynical among us (that'd be me). As for the unextended question mark, Rudy looked great out of the gate...on offense. He made several of those becoming-trademark "Rudy" moves where he finds a small seam to the edge of the lane, runs to the space, and elevates WAY high and drains a shot. Defense, however, was another story altogether.  He failed to pressure Tayshaun Prince and got into some silly premature foul trouble as a result. On one play in particular, Rudy was even playing off Prince in the corner, and STILL had to hip-check him to keep him from going right by for the slam. As for OJ Mayo, the Pistons succeeded with flying colors in doing what good teams do to good scorers-wear him out on D and make his offensive game completely impotent...and OJ's frustration showed. His, and Rudy's, body language left a lot to be desired. Mike Conley had perhaps his weakest game as a Grizzly. Tentative, hesitant, deer in the headlights, etc.....he was all those things on both sides of the ball. He earned his Verno-given nickname "The Dribbler" this game. Sure, his teammates weren't exactly running around trying to get open like, say, Rip Hamilton....but he showed little drive to drive, and little snap on his passes, and the negativity inherent in his game last night piled on itself as the night wore on. He was completely unable to stop Rodney Stuckey (the game had to be a confidence-restorer for the somewhat-maligned Stuckey), Will Bynum (a little-known-but-faster-than-lightning PG), or anyone else. I'll cut him a little slack due to a recently sprained ankle, but for the most part, Conley's issues are mental. His degree of gumption/guts/fortitude/pick your term is SORELY lacking, and he obviously needs something or someone from outside himself to make it improve...can AI do that? I'm hoping he can show by example... Now on to the poor draft picks. These guys, all three of them, looked like they were running on eggshells. No doubt, when the curtain rises on a player's first real NBA game, the butterflies have to feel like ospreys-but WOW. The three rooks took a combined bagel-for-however-many from the floor and looked like the proverbial Law Officers of Keystone out there in general. Settle down guys...you've got the talent and heart (well, two of them have heart that we've seen...), now just harness it and direct it. Saved the good for last, meager though it is-Marc Gasol showed everything about why he is a solid NBA center. HEART. HUSTLE. Two words that need to spread to the rest of the team a bit more often and in a greater amount. I told a buddy on the way out "man, I think Marc had about 20 rebounds"...and it seemed that way. Ok, so it was only 15-but WOW I liked the effort. It's not lost on me, though, that he had that 27pt/16reb game against GSW at home very early in the season last year too...but even if this perfomance is WAY anomalous (which it certainly will prove to be), he set a great tone for himself and a great example for the rest of the team. A rough start. VERY rough. Couldn't have been any rougher, really. Gotta go up from here.... |
Comments
Any GM would tell you for the second overall pick you go for the best talent available and not on some fantasy center because he is from the same continent as Hakeem.
No waiting 2 or 3 years to become a backup. The smart pick would have been the best top 10 talent in Derozan. He could play the 2 or 3 and he is already starting for the Raps. Or pick Evans and move OJ to the point. Then it wouldn't have been necessary to sign Iverson. Heisley just does not have a clue bball talent wise.