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MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 2007-2008 SEASON ANALYSIS
Despite beginning the season with a roster full of capable players at their disposal, the Grizzlies have built up a stack of losses so tall that Yao Ming would have trouble seeing over it (they’ve lost 56 times as of April 6, 2008). The Gasol and Gay experiment blew up in their faces, and management was baited into a highly questionable trade with the Los Angeles Lakers: *Out -- Pau Gasol
*In -- Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the rights to Marc Gasol, and two first round draft picks.
In Gasol, the Grizz. lost a proven powerhouse of a big man; all they received in return, in actuality, is a promising rookie point guard and a couple of potentially decent future draft picks. This midseason trade is definitely nothing for Memphis to write home about! On the flip side, the Grizzlies are witnessing the rapid development of young stars Rudy Gay and Mike Conley Jr. (more on these two later). The Griz. are also enjoying the sharpshooting of Mike Miller and Juan Carlos Navarro. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES -- TOP 3 PLAYERS1. Rudy Gay — 20.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2 apg, 1.37 spg, .98 bpg, 46.2% (FG%), 78.5% (FT%), 34.6% (3p%), 37 mpg
With scorching quickness and out of this world leaping ability, Rudy Gay obviously has a bright future in the National Basketball Association. On a roster full of over-matched and under-achieving players, second year stud Rudy Gay is an anomaly in its truest sense. He never backs down from a challenge, and he is fully committed to maximizing his nearly un-paralled potential through perseverance and hard work. Don’t worry if you live outside of the Memphis area; you will be seeing this guy in the NBA All Star game soon enough. I guarantee it!
2. Mike Miller – 16.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 50.2% (FG%), 77.4% (FT%), 43.2% (3p%)
If one were to interview the head coach of the USA Men’s Basketball Team, Mike Krzyzewski, asking him who he views as the most unsung hero of the team during their World Championships run (in which the US took gold), Coach K. would likely point to Mike Miller. I know what you are thinking. “Why would Coach K. draw attention to Miller when the team consisted of such stars as Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard?” By no means am I trying to degrade these stunning athletes; I am simply explaining that Mr. Miller brought such an incalculably important three-point stroke to a team loaded with slashers. His shooting ability forces the defense to stay true (not leave him), which allows the likes of Kobe and Lebron to prance down the lane and snap the rim with ferocious dunks.
3. Mike Conley Jr. (Rookie)– 9.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, .8 spg, 26.1 mpg
Mike Conley Jr. had always quite literally been an afterthought. To his frustration, he was known as Greg Oden’s little sidekick. No longer is Conley hidden in the great G.O.’s enormous shadow; he is now learning the ropes of the NBA as the point guard in Memphis. Although the statistics in his first season in the League aren’t amazing, Conley has the speed, ballhandling ability, passing I.Q., and mental toughness to join the upper echelon of point guards in the Association within a couple of years.
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