Memphis Grizzlies GM: Donoghus Coach: Doug Collins
PG Derrick Rose/ Brandon Knight/ Mike Bibby
SG Ray Allen/ Kyle Korver/ Michael Redd
SF Tayshaun Prince/ Omri Casspi
PF Kris Humphries/ Patrick Patterson/ Kenneth Faried
C Roy Hibbert/ Spencer Hawes
Pros: Derrick Rose won the MVP for a reason. Offensively his team wasn't that talented, or at least, it didn't really click as well as a lot of people (myself included) thought it would. He got past that, because they played smothering defense, and kept the score close enough for Derrick Rose to be the difference maker. He can score on any defense in the NBA. He's a leader, he's not a great passer, but he's good enough, and he's a heck of a competitor. This team complements him well.
One of the biggest flaws in Chicago's system is that their 2 guards were mediocre to just plain bad. Memphis has mediocre (Kyle Korver) and likely bad (Michael Redd), but that's fine because they have top-10 in Ray Allen. Sure, he's slower this year than he was last year, and he'll be slower next year than he was this year, but 44% 3pt shooting and 16.5 points a game is no accident. He's smart, he knows his limits, he'll let the offense come to him, and he'll blossom here.
Tayshaun Prince has been held captive by the evil Joe Dumars for far too long, and finally he's going to be set free. He's not as good as Luol Deng, but he's only 31, he can still D up, and score. I'd expect him to regress a little from his 14ppg back down to around 12 or so, but that's just because he'll be able to pick and chose his shots more, and I expect his FG% to either jump a little to the 49% range or stay at least static. I also expect less forced 3s, so his 3pt % should go up a little too. Between Ray Allen and Tayshaun combined the Griz have already surpassed the Bulls in terms of quality 1-3.
The depth on this team is full of talent, experience, or potential, and that's about what you'd want to see. Casspi and Patterson in particular I hope to jump a step forward next year into full fledged players.
While Roy Hibbert isn't near Joakim Noah's level as a defensive leader and captain, he's way beyond his level as a scorer, and that should really even out the attack for Memphis. Chicago had Boozer and Noah, but Memphis basically switched it on us and put their offensive skill at the 5 and the hustle monster at the 4. 10-12 pts from Humphries-Kardashian and 16-18 from Hibbert should suffice and 1-5 as a unit I think Memphis is better offensively than Chicago was. Sub in quality scoring depth in Hawes, Patterson, Casspi and Korver, and you got a well rounded attack that should be very potent.
Rebounding in the starting unit should be better than most too when hibbert and humphries are together.
Cons: 1-3 defensively this team should be as good as Chicago, but the 4 and 5 as a pair are nowhere near Chicago's level. Humphries is nothing if not enthusiastic, but he's not a defensive nightmare. He's more like a persistent mosquito that will annoy you all night, but not really hold you back much. Hibbert while a shot blocker and a big body, doesn't have Noah's awareness or killer instinct. Joakim Noah is offended when his team gives up a bucket. Hibbert is not. That's a huge difference because with that, I don't know who Memphis' defensive heart and soul is.
It doesn't get much better on the bench either. Hawes is no defensive powerhouse like Asik is for Chicago for 10 mins a game, Patterson and Faried have the athleticism to be dangerous but I don't think you can count on them to be 'stoppers'. Casspi came into the league with a rep as a tenacious defender but he hasn't consistently shown it yet, and Kyle Korver pretty much just gets by.
The other bad thing about not having a defensive leader is that guys who rely on solid team defense to play what we see at home as "really good defense" become exposed a little. Tayshaun should be solid, but Ray Allen I wonder about, with his declining quickness. Mistakes are easier to hide when Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O'neal have your back, but Hibbert and Humphries are going to have their hands full just guarding their men.
Recommendation: David West is on the block and I'd love to see him here. You'd lose some defense and some rebounding and some hustle, but you'd make your best strengths stronger (offense) with a proven pick and roll man to pair with Rose.
Synopsis: I think this is a solidly built offensive team but a bit of a house of cards defensively. Most nights they should be solid, but some nights its gonna fall apart, and that's keeping them from elite status. Still a playoff team, and in the actual NBA I'd expect nothing less than a 4-seed.
Topic: 2011 CB draft: How does my team look?/division rankings (Read 590344 times)