Things never going according to plan. The Grizzlies were supposed to defeat the Clippers in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, but that didn't happen. The Clippers played spoiler in the largest of ways defeating Memphis on their home floor in a decisive Game 7 Sunday afternoon.
The entire series was unusual. We saw the Grizzlies blow a 27 point lead in the 4th quarter of game one, a nine point lead in the 4th in game three, and then win games five and six after trailing 3-1 facing elimination. No one gave the Clippers a chance in Game 7, especially not in Memphis. But the Clippers proved to be resilient enough to prevent the Grizzlies from becoming just the ninth team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best of seven series. I still can't believe it.
I'm not going to sit here and pry through each game and tell you where things went wrong. I'm just not up for that at this point. But, I will tell you this. It is hard to win a series without any contribution from the two guard. OJ Mayo played the worst five game stretch arguably of his career in the final five games of the series and Tony Allen just can't score. I can sit here and tell you all that it's Lionel Hollins' fault that the Grizzlies lost or that Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph just can't play together. Give me a break. They haven't been healthy together on the court for an extended period of time in two years. How do you expect them to gel? And as for Lionel Hollins, he has saved this franchise. Three years ago people would've killed to have the success this team has had.
Its time to move forward. In a month, we will look back at the past season and see it for what it was: the best in franchise history. But you can not settle now. This can't be enough. Its now time to go out and find some pieces that can't make this team worthy of a championship. Its not the starters fault that the season is over. There just wasn't enough production from the bench to make a title run.
Start in the draft. The Grizzlies will pick in the 25th position overall. Yep, its not that great, but you can still find value at that position. The Grizzlies clearly need players who can handle the ball and/or shoot. They need a backup point guard for Mike Conley, not a two guard who will play the point, but an ACTUAL point guard. I think they need to grab a guard in free agency, so in the draft, I'd look for a sharp shooter. Multiple players stick out to me that would fit what the Grizzlies are looking for. John Jenkins, Dion Waters, and Doron Lamb will all likely be available for Memphis to choose. Any one of these guys could solve the Grizzlies' shooting woes.
You might ask, why not draft a point guard? My response to that would be that the Grizzlies just don't have time to sit and wait two or three years for a 19-20 year old to develop his game. They have the small window of opportunity with this group of players and need to win now. And clearly the city of Memphis has no patience for young players to develop. Josh Selby and Greivis Vasquez, the last two point guards and overall draft picks by the Grizzlies, have been heavily criticized for their play as ROOKIES. Memphis isn't going to sit around and wait for Marquis Teague or another young gun to develop. After all, how many players that the Grizzlies have drafted in the last 10 years are still on the team? Two. Mike Conley and Josh Selby. That's pretty unbelievable. Go out and pick up a veteran, an Andre Miller or Delonte West. Just make it someone that can handle the ball please.
The Memphis Grizzlies went 41-25 this year, the best winning percentage in franchise history. They also finished 4th in the Western Conference, their best finish in franchise history. This team has a solid core of players with Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol, and Zach Randolph. So smile Memphis, good times are on the horizon. We just have to be patient.
--GM
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