Grizzlies Rotation

Mezotarkus · Post #1 » by **Mezotarkus** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:05 am

I suspect I am going to become an honorary Grizzlies fan this year. I'd really like to see this team do well. What do you guys think the rotation will be this year? Here's a stab to give Iverson 35 mpg (splitting at PG/SG), preserving some decent minutes for Conley, giving Gay, Mayo and Randolph 30+ minutes and Ross, Arthur, Thabeet and Gasol material minutes. There isn't much room for anyone else after taking care of these 9 guys.

PG - Iverson 22, Conley 23
SG - Mayo 35, Iverson 13
SF - Gay 32, Ross 16
PF - Randolph 35, Arthur 13
C - Thabeet 24, Gasol 24

Hunter
Jaric
Williams
Haddadi
Carroll
Gilder
Young

Post #2 » by **wizkid27** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:10 am

I'd love to see Thabeet do well, but I think that the split in minutes at center will be more like Gasol 30, Thabeet 18 (with Gasol starting). From the bit that we've seen in summer league and even in college, Thabeet just HAS to come off of the bench from the get-go. If he shows he can handle it, maybe then it turns into the 50/50 split with Hasheem starting late in the season... MAYBE.

As for the rest of it... the PG situation is so interesting that I have no idea. Gay will get more than 32 min... probably more like 35-37. Randolph could end up at 35 or zero, depending upon how that experiment goes...

Post #3 » by **SD2042** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 5:43 am

First off Quentin Ross plays for the Mavs now. So the backup mins should go to DeMarre Carroll/Sam Young. Second depending on matchups, there maybe times where we may see AI play some point. It just depends on the circumstances and how will things will be dealt out with the Grizz and AI. As for Thabeet and Gasol. It's safe to say that Gasol will start first while Thabeet needs to start off the bench and work his way up from there.

6_Rings · Post #4 » by **6_Rings** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 12:56 pm

yeah 35mpg seems just about right for AI splitting time in the PG/SG position.

6th man of the year?

dark-child · Post #5 » by **dark-child** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 1:20 pm

Just listened to the head coach (Hollins) on "The Morning Rush"
What we learned - No ten man rotation, and he foresees A.I. in a Manu Ginobili role a non starter with significant minutes.

Starters - Conley - 35 min
Mayo - 32 min
Gay - 38 min
Randolph - 35 min
Gasol - 30 min

Reserves - A.I. - 30 min
Carroll - 15 min
Arthur - 15 min
Thabeet - 15 min

Note - the lack of balance in minutes is because we are more versatile now and therefore we may see some uncovential lineups where A.I., Conley, and Mayo are all on the floor at the same time at the end of halves or games and where Randolph or Arthur are playing center in small lineups due to the dirth of true centers league wide.

24K_Gold · Post #6 » by **24K_Gold** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 3:15 pm

that may be about spot on dark child.i think that playing iverson 30 mins a game give or take will a)still give the young guys plenty of time to improve with In game situations.b)it will allow iverson to stay fresh for the end of the season when "hopefully" you guys will be fighting for a playoff spot if all goes right and everyone's on the same page!

at the end of the day each one of the top 6-7 players will log more than enough time to help their team.iverson may play 42mins one night and 27 the next and so on and so forth for each player.it's going to come down to who's playing better that particular game.

the thing I see that no one has really mentioned about ai is that his contract is laced with team oriented goals and this is a business, so he realizes that the better the team does the more he can earn.that a great way to motivate him to stay within the team goals and extend his career 2-3 more yrs if he can show and prove to be a leader!

Downtown · Post #7 » by **Downtown** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 3:32 pm

Wasn't Jason Terry coming off the bench instead of starting last season for the Mavs? I don't recall who started at shooting guard for them(I know Kidd starts at the point) but Terry averaged over 33 minutes per game.

Mezotarkus · Post #8 » by **Mezotarkus** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 3:53 pm

Thanks Dark-child. That looks reasonable. This team could really do some damage this season if Randolph can stay focused and Iverson embraces his role.

bobobolas1 · Post #9 » by **bobobolas1** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 3:56 pm

Downtown wrote:Wasn't Jason Terry coming off the bench instead of starting last season for the Mavs? I don't recall who started at shooting guard for them(I know Kidd starts at the point) but Terry averaged over 33 minutes per game.

Juan jose Barea maybe, aint sure

Post #10 » by **SD2042** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 5:21 pm

I think it was Antoine Wright started at SG b4 he was traded to Toronto.

As for the short rotation. At least it's sounds reasonable enough for some of the players to be given a chance to make an impact.

It_Was_Typed · Post #11 » by **It_Was_Typed** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:17 pm

Starters:
Gasol
Randolph
Gay
Mayo
Conley

Bench:
Thabeet
Arthur
Young
Iverson

td00 · Post #12 » by **td00** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:46 pm

Correct me here, but didn't AI state he wasn't coming off the bench?

I don't see him getting around 30-35 min. His team will need him more than that and he will get 40-45 in my estimation. If they allow him to roam and score, he will lead this team in scoring.

Conley, IMO, will be the one who loses minutes if anyone....

I see AI starting with Mayo in the backcourt, plain and simple for the fact that he will be seen as their go-to guy.

syxx87 · Post #13 » by **syxx87** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 2:09 pm

^ I agree with tdoo for the most part. Is it set that Iverson will come off the bench or what? Because the way Iverson, C. Wallace, and Heisley were talking at the press conference, it seems as if he will atleast have the opportunity to compete for a starting spot in Training Camp and if thats the case then A.I. will likely get it for better or worse. Unless the whole team has dramatically improved over the summer, Iverson potentially will have to play more than 30-35 mpg for the Grizzlies to have a chance at "winning" liket they say they will. It seems as if he has already been labeled the "Star" player and "Go-To Guy". IMO, for the first month of the season, Iverson will do his best Steve Nash/ Chauncey Billups impression but I think as the season progresses and grinds out, I think that Iverson will start taking the bulk of the shots. That will be because a combo of its Iverson's nature to shoot, the Grizzlies will become a little to dependent on Iverson, and the average joe fans who will be paying the money to come see the games will want to see that.

There isnt much risk to this deal, and the Grizzlies seem to already be enjoying the benefits from it early on (Tickets and Jersey sales) but I still just am not convinced this was the best move for both sides from an on court standpoint.

DeeJay · Post #14 » by **DeeJay** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:19 am

Grizzlies were on the erg of being my favourite team in the NBA this season when i saw who they drafted. I was excited for all of their rookies, DeMarre Carroll, Hasheem Thabeet and Sam Young all look like exciting rookies. They then got Zach Randolph and i didn't really like that but i put up with it. They were looking like a really cool team heading into the new season. And then they got Iverson. I've never been a fan of him and i wasn't happy when they got him. I then thought he could be quite cool to have on my favourite team but now im not to sure. I really was looking forward to Conley and Mayo starting next season and getting heaps of minutes. But now A.I will take up a lot of their minutes and might even cause one of them to start on the bench. I guess im just confused about the team and how much i like them.

vanjulio · Post #15 » by **vanjulio** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 5:29 pm

Iverson is going to training camp with everyone else and the coach decides who is starting from there. I think we'll see that Marc gets the start and Haddadi is his backup. I don't know what they will do with Thabeet but I hope he dominates the DLeague

playaloc916 · Post #16 » by **playaloc916** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 8:20 pm

I guess no one knows for sure until the season starts, but I think AI will probably start. It's clear that Iverson puts people in the seats, and to the casual NBA fan, I think they would want him, and probably expect him to start. I also think it would be the best for the team if he has a Ginobili/Terry-type role, but I somehow doubt that will happen.

And I just wanted to put this in, with all the hate that Randolph generally gets, he was one of the bright spots for the Clippers last year. He was an offensive machine last year, can occasionally hit the 3 (and I mean occasionally, lol), and grabs rebounds well. The only sort of trouble he got into last year was related to a time when he had some family problems (I think he dad or uncle was sick), and also when he got injured. If you remove those two things, I think he had a pretty successful season with the Clippers. I'm hoping he can have a positive impact on the Grizzlies as well.

Post #17 » by **SD2042** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:26 pm

I kept up with ZBo last season when he was with the Clips. He was doing the things you stated from the scoring to the rebounding. And unfortunately he went through some tragedy with his father being sick then later passed on. Then the fight with Louis Amundsen didn't help things as it was all wrapped up in ZBo's tragedy period.

Hopefully with being on a new team well pass due for some resurgence that Zbo will have a clearer head and be able to concentrate on playing better bball and help the team win some games.