What the Grizzlies must do to keep/improve playoff seeding
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 6:56 am
Here's some random thoughts on what challenges we face down the stretch and how we should combat them.
1. Lean heavily on the bench
We play more games down the stretch (31) than any team in the West besides Minnesota (32). We play by far the most road games (19) than the rest of the West. By comparison, LAC and SAS play 11 more road games, DEN, GS, and HOU play 12, and OKC plays 15.
We have 7 back-to-backs remaining (including the current one).
Because of the tough schedule, we absolutely have to lean heavily on our now rejuvenated bench. With Arthur and Davis available to play big minutes, Gasol and Randolph especially should be limited to 30 minutes or less every time the schedule gets cramped (which will be a lot). Especially against bad teams.
2. Feed the bigs
While they're on the floor, however, Gasol and Randolph should get lots of touches. This new focus on pick and roll is good, but it should be used primarily to create better passing lanes to the inside and to unbalance the defense, not to play San Antonio's drive, kick, drive, kick, drive offense.
We've done a good job offensively the last few games because we're moving the ball with the intention of getting good, deep catches in the paint. We should not go away from this strategy.
3. Fire the three early and often
I'm not recommending becoming the Houston Rockets, but we now have the guns, in my opinion, to start to make teams pay for sagging too much.
Here are some 3pt percentages for the season:
Conley: 37%
Prince: 43%
Bayless: 34%
Daye: 52%
Pondexter: 42%
That's 5/6 of our perimeter rotation all shooting somewhere between respectable and excellent from the 3pt line.
Even Tony Allen is a career 27% shooter. That's not good, but it's not so bad that defenders are going to leave you out there by yourself if you actually shoot when you get open shots. Allen's been doing a better job scoring of late, and launching a couple threes every game - combined with his propensity to cut backdoor when his defender first starts to help elsewhere - will make defenders more likely to stay near him.
The bottom line is that we have enough weapons to make defenses "pick their poison".
4. Acquire a backup PG
Bayless is much better at SG than PG. Wroten isn't ready and doesn't belong in the rotation yet.
What I'd like is a functional PG who can defend SG's and hit the three.
The only guy I can think of who could be made available is Kirk Hinrich: the bulls need to dump salary to get under the tax, which is why you have heard about Boozer-Bargnani trade rumors, or them shopping Rip Hamilton. Rose and Nate Robinson will make Hinrich expendable as well I think, and we could definitely use him.
This would push Daye out of the rotation, but aside from his incredibly hot shooting, he doesn't offer that much anyway.
Cash considerations, TPE, and a future 2nd rounder for Hinrich?
5. Find Haddadi's replacement
Gasol will get in foul trouble against a team with good bigs in an important game. It is absolutely bound to happen. We have to have another guy with plenty of size who is also competent. It doesn't matter who it is. Maybe we absorb someone like Camby from the Knicks so that they can add another player (I heard that Redick for Shumpert might be on the table, and it would make sense in that kind of deal, given the salary difference).
Maybe we just sign the best D-League center we can find. We just need a guy.
6.) Be physical against the elite teams
No one has really considered us an elite team the last 3 years, and yet comments from other players lead me to believe that the good teams hate playing us more than playing the other elite teams. For instance, upon hearing of Marc Gasol's contract extension, Durant said: "I was really hoping they wouldn't re-sign him". It was a game against us last year that led Del Negro to start complaining about Blake Griffin not getting enough calls.
I believe the reason is the bruising, grinding style of basketball we play. It takes a toll on the finesse-heavy Western Conference (see: Clippers 2nd round no-show against SAS after a grueling 7 game series against us).
We need to let teams know that they're in for four quarters of that every time they step on the basketball court with us, and see if they're ready to match that intensity. My guess is we can win all 4 games against the West's elite teams (SAS, OKC, and LAC twice) if we do that.
1. Lean heavily on the bench
We play more games down the stretch (31) than any team in the West besides Minnesota (32). We play by far the most road games (19) than the rest of the West. By comparison, LAC and SAS play 11 more road games, DEN, GS, and HOU play 12, and OKC plays 15.
We have 7 back-to-backs remaining (including the current one).
Because of the tough schedule, we absolutely have to lean heavily on our now rejuvenated bench. With Arthur and Davis available to play big minutes, Gasol and Randolph especially should be limited to 30 minutes or less every time the schedule gets cramped (which will be a lot). Especially against bad teams.
2. Feed the bigs
While they're on the floor, however, Gasol and Randolph should get lots of touches. This new focus on pick and roll is good, but it should be used primarily to create better passing lanes to the inside and to unbalance the defense, not to play San Antonio's drive, kick, drive, kick, drive offense.
We've done a good job offensively the last few games because we're moving the ball with the intention of getting good, deep catches in the paint. We should not go away from this strategy.
3. Fire the three early and often
I'm not recommending becoming the Houston Rockets, but we now have the guns, in my opinion, to start to make teams pay for sagging too much.
Here are some 3pt percentages for the season:
Conley: 37%
Prince: 43%
Bayless: 34%
Daye: 52%
Pondexter: 42%
That's 5/6 of our perimeter rotation all shooting somewhere between respectable and excellent from the 3pt line.
Even Tony Allen is a career 27% shooter. That's not good, but it's not so bad that defenders are going to leave you out there by yourself if you actually shoot when you get open shots. Allen's been doing a better job scoring of late, and launching a couple threes every game - combined with his propensity to cut backdoor when his defender first starts to help elsewhere - will make defenders more likely to stay near him.
The bottom line is that we have enough weapons to make defenses "pick their poison".
4. Acquire a backup PG
Bayless is much better at SG than PG. Wroten isn't ready and doesn't belong in the rotation yet.
What I'd like is a functional PG who can defend SG's and hit the three.
The only guy I can think of who could be made available is Kirk Hinrich: the bulls need to dump salary to get under the tax, which is why you have heard about Boozer-Bargnani trade rumors, or them shopping Rip Hamilton. Rose and Nate Robinson will make Hinrich expendable as well I think, and we could definitely use him.
This would push Daye out of the rotation, but aside from his incredibly hot shooting, he doesn't offer that much anyway.
Cash considerations, TPE, and a future 2nd rounder for Hinrich?
5. Find Haddadi's replacement
Gasol will get in foul trouble against a team with good bigs in an important game. It is absolutely bound to happen. We have to have another guy with plenty of size who is also competent. It doesn't matter who it is. Maybe we absorb someone like Camby from the Knicks so that they can add another player (I heard that Redick for Shumpert might be on the table, and it would make sense in that kind of deal, given the salary difference).
Maybe we just sign the best D-League center we can find. We just need a guy.
6.) Be physical against the elite teams
No one has really considered us an elite team the last 3 years, and yet comments from other players lead me to believe that the good teams hate playing us more than playing the other elite teams. For instance, upon hearing of Marc Gasol's contract extension, Durant said: "I was really hoping they wouldn't re-sign him". It was a game against us last year that led Del Negro to start complaining about Blake Griffin not getting enough calls.
I believe the reason is the bruising, grinding style of basketball we play. It takes a toll on the finesse-heavy Western Conference (see: Clippers 2nd round no-show against SAS after a grueling 7 game series against us).
We need to let teams know that they're in for four quarters of that every time they step on the basketball court with us, and see if they're ready to match that intensity. My guess is we can win all 4 games against the West's elite teams (SAS, OKC, and LAC twice) if we do that.
