You know who Memphis is missing?

[dasiegel]

Quincy Pondexter.

No I'm not selling any Pondexters in the near future, but I really believe that he is one of those workhorse, energy guys that helped elevate that team. Sometimes it's those dirty work guys, like Bowen, Battier etc that make a team go. There is no reason they should be worse than Phoenix or Dallas after the foundation they have built the last few years.

Too bad the Knicks don't have nay dirty work guys btw... oops that's right we have MWP but we don't play him SMH!

[tennelson55]

I do, Rudy gay
Look at the kings now

[realreodeal]

I'm surprised this was titled "Dasiegel knows who Memphis is missing". You always seem to make any thread you start about yourself.

Anyway, the Grizzlies will be just fine without Q.

[dasiegel]

Originally Posted by tennelson55

I do, Rudy gay
Look at the kings now

Oh yea, Kings are ballin!

Originally Posted by realreodeal

I'm surprised this was titled "Dasiegel knows who Memphis is missing". You always seem to make any thread you start about yourself.

Anyway, the Grizzlies will be just fine without Q.

Well right now they aren't in the playoffs when they were a favorite many felt were knocked out too early. They are missing the glue guys.

And yes, like many people on BO I often use my name when I do threads, this is true.

[derotter]

James Johnson is better than Pondexter imho, and has been a nice surprise under the Grizzlies uniform. He's an incredible shot blocker and brings a solide defensive presence, not to mention he seems to be a very good teammate

Courtney Lee and him are bringing more offense than Allen & Pondexter, and the defense can be very special with Gasol back from injury (around 8 points less per game, it's quite amazing)

Regarding Gasol, he should be way more assertive on the offensive end, he creates a lot of opportunities for others but tends to disappear when he needs to create his own shot. Plus, with his knee brace, he has lost a lot of movement, especially laterally. In short Gasol 2013-14 < Gasol the last two years

Box Score Geeks - Advanced NBA Statistics for Marc Gasol and Articles featuring Marc Gasol

If Gasol can play at the same level, if Conley continues his stellar play when he'll be back and if the team continues to run the floor with a stretch 4 (Randolph is a great player, but I prefer quick movements for the Grizz) like Davis and if Allen is committed to come from the bench, I think they can make some noise during the playoffs. If not, I think they'll try to deal either Gasol or Zach or both of them, and rebuild around Conley and athletic players.

[dasiegel]

Originally Posted by derotter

James Johnson is better than Pondexter imho, and has been a nice surprise under the Grizzlies uniform. He's an incredible shot blocker and brings a solide defensive presence, not to mention he seems to be a very good teammate

Courtney Lee and him are bringing more offense than Allen & Pondexter, and the defense can be very special with Gasol back from injury (around 8 points less per game, it's quite amazing)

Regarding Gasol, he should be way more assertive on the offensive end, he creates a lot of opportunities for others but tends to disappear when he needs to create his own shot. Plus, with his knee brace, he has lost a lot of movement, especially laterally. In short Gasol 2013-14 < Gasol the last two years

Box Score Geeks - Advanced NBA Statistics for Marc Gasol and Articles featuring Marc Gasol

If Gasol can play at the same level, if Conley continues his stellar play when he'll be back and if the team continues to run the floor with a stretch 4 (Randolph is a great player, but I prefer quick movements for the Grizz) like Davis and if Allen is committed to come from the bench, I think they can make some noise during the playoffs. If not, I think they'll try to deal either Gasol or Zach or both of them, and rebuild around Conley and athletic players.

I actually always liked James Johnson so i won't take away from him and i have mixed feelings about Lee but Allen and Pondexter brought a toughness that doesn't seem to be there anymore. Randolph is good but dropped off a bit, as you pointed out Gasol's injury hurt them a lot. But something is just missing. They don't have that "uh oh we're playing Memphis it's gonna be a grind feeling."

[derotter]

Originally Posted by dasiegel

They don't have that "uh oh we're playing Memphis it's gonna be a grind feeling."

They blow hot and cold.

I saw the victory against the Blazers on the Rose Garden floor, and it was a real demonstration of force.

- Lillard was unable to create with Conley defending him

- Lee dominated Wes Matthews, who is arguably the MVP of the season for this squad (great post-up player, amazing 3pt shooter)

- Even with LMA in double figures, they scored only 81 points, 34.5% efg% & 16.7% 3pt%

And a few days later, they lost against Dirk & the Mavs...

[dasiegel]

Originally Posted by derotter

They blow hot and cold.

I saw the victory against the Blazers on the Rose Garden floor, and it was a real demonstration of force.

- Lillard was unable to create with Conley defending him

- Lee dominated Wes Matthews, who is arguably the MVP of the season for this squad (great post-up player, amazing 3pt shooter)

- Even with LMA in double figures, they scored only 81 points, 34.5% efg% & 16.7% 3pt%

And a few days later, they lost against Dirk & the Mavs...

Yea something is just missing. I'm not sure what they are doing with Ed Davis either, he seems under-utilized.

[Rabie1]

They miss them..

[bigcwd2000]

Originally Posted by Rabie1

They miss them..

Big Country, Abdur-Rahim, and Bibby! The original big three.

[Pat3ntP3nd1ng]

Originally Posted by bigcwd2000

Big Country, Abdur-Rahim, and Bibby! The original big three.

That comment made my day. So funny, Im still laughing while writing this.

[dasiegel]

Originally Posted by Pat3ntP3nd1ng

That comment made my day. So funny, Im still laughing while writing this.

hahaha, that baiscally means anyone would qualify as a big three

[derotter]

Shareef was actually one on my favorite players back then, and I still think their jersey design was amazing

1997 NBA Rookie Challenge - 4th Quater - YouTube

[GC1980]

They miss Coach Hollins.

[h00perstar34]

Jimmer would be a good fit on Memphis

[dasiegel]

Originally Posted by GC1980

They miss Coach Hollins.

+16.4

Originally Posted by h00perstar34

Jimmer would be a good fit on Memphis

+4

[jmmintz]

Memphis season ticket holder here (so I'm biased, but tend to think rather knowledgeable on the subject ...I love Q. He's a good dude, and was super-cool to my 7-year-old when we ran into him at Target this off-season.

But, we don't miss him, because frankly, he wasn't playing great this season to begin with - nowhere close to as good as he was in the playoffs last season. And, we don't miss Hollins - it was the right move to cut him loose for SOOOO many reasons.

And, it's 1 million percent not Rudy Gay. That's one of the funniest things I've ever read on Blowout. No one here misses him, I assure you.

What we miss is team health. Gasol goes down...comes back, and then TA goes down. And right as we start to make a run, win 8 of 10...Conley goes down.

Right now, all we need is for everyone to get healthy, and then for them to put Tayshaun Prince on the bench forever, because he's AWFUL.

The starting five needs to be one of two line-ups:
Conley, Allen, James Johnson, ZBo, and Gasol
OR
Conley, Courtney Lee, Tayshaun (since they seem determined to let him stink the place up), ZBo, and Gasol.

We CANNOT have TA and Prince on the floor together, because it's an offensive disaster.

But, this team, when healthy, is absolutely better than last year's Finals team. The only team out of the West that I don't know that we could beat in 7 games is OKC. Everyone else we could take.

[dasiegel]

I respect what you are saying and since you see them first hand you might have some extra insight but I think you are missing more than just health. Randolph doesn't look the same as the last few years and your team is aging so injuries are gonna happen. Why would a team be afraid to play Memphis, they are basically the same core as last year when they didn't get where they wanted, just a year older.

[bbplaya11]

Happy c lee is helping you guys out, didnt get enough mins here
Have a large collection fs, is anyone is interested

[jmmintz]

yeah, I just can't agree. The starters may be the same, but the starters weren't the problem last year. Sure, Randolph is a year older, but he's really the only "old" guy on the team (except Prince, who I already said I hate but he stunk last year in the playoffs anyway). At 17.5 points and over 10 boards a game, he's still one of the best PF in the NBA. Statistically, he's actually better this year than last year in nearly every category except rebounds (where he's averaging .8 boards per game less), and shooting percentage, where he's a scant .006% worse.

The issues last year were long-range shooting and backup PG.

I think our backup PG issue is solved - Calathes is the real deal. He's been phenomenal since Conley went down. Now, I'm not sure how that will translate back to more limited playing time (Joerger even commented on that in his post-game after the Orlando game Wednesday night), but I have faith he'll be fine. Now, I'm also a biased UF alum and could go on and on about why he's a great ball player, but I won't.

As for long-range shooting, that should be a non-issue as well. That's how we lost to San Antonio in the finals - they collapsed on Randolph and Gasol. Now, do that and we have Mike Miller and Courtney Lee, both of whom will absolutely make shots from beyond the arc.

Plus, we added Johnson, and then have Koufos, who is probably the best backup center in the league (after all, he was the starter on last year's really solid Denver team).

So, after my long-winded response, that's why this team is better. The holes they filled may not be glamorous, but we addressed the needs. I think that presuming we sneak into the playoffs, no one wants to play this team.

[derotter]

I agree with you that no one wants to play this team.

But injuries are a real concern.

- Gasol has not been the same, and he's supposed to be the leader of this squad.

- Randolph is still a good player, but with a point guard like Conley, you want a team capable of running, and it's not the best quality of Zach (imho, a stretch 4 would be a better fit)

- Koufos is not the super-effecient player he once was with the Nuggets

- James Johnson is probably my favorite player of the team with Conley, but I don't see him perform like that for a long stretch...

[tennelson55]

I disagree with several posts above. If the western conference finals came I'd take nearly every team over .500
People may say Gay is a team crusher, but from what has happened to the grizz over the past year has been very significant. They don't have *any* player who can contribute solid play at the sg or sf. That leaves you practically 3v5 and not to mention the 3 players who have a decent game play mainly in the paint. Conley IMO isn't a good 3 pt shooter, but isn't bad either. Your Bench is ________ and then when you go to a zone I'd say your team is stuck. The grizzlies have to battle every game and you do have a bunch of hard nosed players who give it their all. I just don't think you could even put yourself in the realm of the spurs, clippers or okc. The talent just isn't there.
I do think Gay was underrated and still is. He's a decent player who improved the kings a lot. Then the grizz fell off a bit. I also think hollins was a tad overrated, but subtracting him and Gay is a lot to lose.

If you believe the grizz get to the conference finals feel free to pm me about a small wager

[jmmintz]

Originally Posted by tennelson55

I disagree with several posts above. If the western conference finals came I'd take nearly every team over .500
People may say Gay is a team crusher, but from what has happened to the grizz over the past year has been very significant. They don't have *any* player who can contribute solid play at the sg or sf. That leaves you practically 3v5 and not to mention the 3 players who have a decent game play mainly in the paint. Conley IMO isn't a good 3 pt shooter, but isn't bad either. Your Bench is ________ and then when you go to a zone I'd say your team is stuck. The grizzlies have to battle every game and you do have a bunch of hard nosed players who give it their all. I just don't think you could even put yourself in the realm of the spurs, clippers or okc. The talent just isn't there.
I do think Gay was underrated and still is. He's a decent player who improved the kings a lot. Then the grizz fell off a bit. I also think hollins was a tad overrated, but subtracting him and Gay is a lot to lose.

If you believe the grizz get to the conference finals feel free to pm me about a small wager

Please - The Grizz didn't fall off when we traded Rudy - we finished better than we ever did. Sure, we played a Westbrook-less OKC, but you can only play who's in front of you. And frankly, Toronto got better as well...they're four games better than .500 for the first time in who knows how long TORONTO!

I wanted Gay to be great because he has all the physical tools you'd want in a SF, and admittedly he's been better in Sacramento than he was here - but, you're paying him more money than Lebron, and he was barely shooting 40% when we moved him. He has always been a high-volume scorer. Sure, he'll get you 20 points, but on 20 shots.

As for no one that can contribute at the 2/3, Courtney Lee and James Johnson are just fine, and frankly, come playoff time (predicated on us making it), I'm fine to just let Mike Miller stand outside the three point line, let teams collapse on Randolph and Gasol, and let him jack up threes like he did last year. That was the problem against SA - no one to make you pay when they double-teamed the post. That shouldn't be an issue anymore.

I'm not saying I think the Grizz will get to the Finals, because the WC is loaded and who knows where we'll end up as far as seeding (if we make the playoffs at all). But, I AM saying that it would not shock me in the least if we did make the Finals again.