Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Grizzlies Paragraph


Rather than delve into the irony of Memphis owner Michael Heisley's personal interest in acquiring power forward Zach Randolph (and his $33 million contract over the next two seasons) barely a year and a half after giving Pau Gasol away over what was assumed to be financial reasons, let's focus instead on why the Grizzlies' wayward pursuit of talent will seal their fate as the winner of the Draft Lottery Sweepstakes. The team last year was bad, but especially when it came to passing the ball (30th in assists per game in 2008-09) and protecting it (27th in turnover ratio). Then they added Allen Iverson and Zach Randolph, and drafted three rookies that should see playing time off the bench. Randolph has always been a better fantasy player than an NBA player, and while a GM would point to his 16.7 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game career averages and 20/10 production last season, a coach might instead see a power forward that shoots 46.9% for his career, jacked 17.5 shots a game last year (62% of which were jumpers) while adding a three point game (33% on 1.9 three pointers attempted per game) and blocked a shot once in every three games. Iverson settled for a one year, $3 million deal from the Grizzlies after coming off the worst statistical season of his 13 years in the NBA, and while a career 27.1 per game scorer, his career averages of 6.2 assists and 3.6 turnovers per game contribute to the team's weaknesses. Offensive efficiency was never one of Iverson's attributes either, as he's a 42.5% shooter over his career while attempting 22.1 shots a game, and his frustrations with losing should escalate at some point this season into another postgame (or practice) rant. First round draft pick Hasheem Thabeet, a 7'3", 267 lb. shot blocker from UConn should prove to be a reach as the second overall pick in a (subpar) draft and will have a tough adjustment to the speed and (especially) the strength of The League. The additions of Iverson and Randolph in particular will take shots away from a promising young team, and there's no telling what the on and off court negative influences the veterans will have on the younger players. Just as passing the ball is addictive on good teams, ball hogging and bad shot selection are prevalent among bad teams, and it'll be up to the kids to not pick up any bad habits from the veteran presence in the locker room.

No comments: