| 5 Steps to a Successful Season - Part 5 |
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| Written by Chip Crain |
| Tuesday, 08 September 2009 06:33 |
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This is the 5th and final blog in the 5 part series on what the Grizzlies need to accomplish this season to consider it a success. It opened with a blog defining what people should think about in regards to the team's record. Second I discussed Zach Randolph and his role in in making the season a success. Part 3 looked at Rudy Gay and what he needs to accomplish this season. Part 4 dealt with the three headed alien monster known as the Grizzlies Centers. Today I am talking about the backcourt. The Grizzlies starting backcourt appears still unset...for better or worse. O J Mayo is the starting SG despite wanting to play PG. Mike Conley is the starting PG despite a very poor statistical showing in that role so far in his career and little faith among the fans that he will ever justify his #4 draft position. And that is the good news. Backing up Mayo and Conley are rookie Sam Young, veteran play-maker Marco Jaric and former NBA washout Marcus Williams. I purposefully left this group for last in case the Grizzlies make a last second move to acquire Allen Iverson or Brent Barry. Neither player appears to be a great fit either but that has never stopped in the Grizzlies in the past. At this time nothing seems imminent with either player but this may need to be revised later. The main issue can be summed up in one statement. Mayo and Conley need to become a cohesive backcourt capable of using their skills together. Ron Tillery mentioned on his blog that Rudy Gay and O J Mayo didn't mesh well together last season. That isn't good but if Conley and Mayo clash this season things will be ugly fast. If the backcourt players don't accept their roles and prosper in them it is difficult to imagine the team succeeding on the court this year. Conley brings speed, long range shooting and the ability to break down defenses. The problem early last season was that Conley never took great advantage of those skills. Walking the ball up the court and looking to the bench for a play to be called doesn't give players a lot of opportunities to use speed against a defender. Once Lionel Hollins turned him loose however Conley started to look the part of a top level PG in the NBA. Maybe not All-Star material yet but definitely in the upper half of the discussion. I know people about gagged when I wrote that last sentence but consider this. Starting at Hollins first game as coach (Jan 25th), Conley averaged 14.3 ppg, 5.7 apg and 3.9 rpg shooting 45% from the field and 41% from behind the arc. He would be rated the 18th best assist man in the league and when you throw out non-PG's from the list he easily makes the top 15. His 3 pt shooting puts him in the top 15 of all guards. His rebounding stats put him in the top 20 and that is for guards not just point guards. While Conley is a slasher who creates shots for teammates when denied a path to the goal and can hit perimeter shots when left alone, Mayo is a perimeter scorer who can slash when people overplay him and create shots for teammates if he can't get his own shot off. Mayo has excellent vision and creativity but unfortunately last season that didn't result in intelligent decisions with the ball. His 3 turnovers a game were too high for anyone and especially for someone not responsible for bringing the ball up the court. But turnovers are part of life when you are playing a rookie in the starting lineup and Mayo has taken this to heart. This off-season he has focused on ball handling and passing as areas that need improvement and when O J focuses on things they improve. No one on the team has a better work ethic than Mayo and that should benefit him as his career progresses.  Defensively neither player exhibited good defense last season, especially Mayo who got wore down from the incredible workload he was subject to. Hopefully a deeper bench will negate the need to have Mayo playing iron man minutes this season. The two players seem to match up well on paper. The slashing point guard who can hit the long range shot paired with a deadly perimeter shooter who can also penetrate and create for teammates. The problem seems to be that Mayo wants to be the primary ball handler and Conley needs to be the primary ball handler to take best advantage of his skills. If that becomes an issue then the offense will struggle overall.  Conley needs to use his speed to harass opponents more and with Thabeet or Haddadi behind him that may not be as punitive if he does get beat a few times. Last season Conley getting beat at the point meant a general collapse on the defensive end. This season with a true shot-blocker behind him that shouldn't be as big an issue. Mayo is a fighter who rises to challenges and he now knows just how hard those challenges are over an 82 game season. The main problem with both players is their heights. Conley is listed at 6-1 and Mayo at 6-4. If they are actually those heights they are still both undersized at their posisition. The Grizzlies will struggle against bigger backcourts. That is where the bench comes into play. Sam Young has perfect SG size at 6-6, a tough defensive mentality and surprising range. He is also older than Rudy Gay so how much better will he get? Remember that Young didn't play shooting guard in college so he will have to learn a new position as well. Hopefully he won't have to take over the starting role as well. If Memphis Can survive losing just about anyone in the starting lineup except Conley and  O J Mayo. An early season injury to either player could be catastrophic to the team. Also on the bench are Marco Jaric who is more famous for his wife than his game and Marcus Williams who washed out of the NBA at the beginning of last season and played most of the year in Puerto Rico. So basically the Grizzlies need to add a more effective scoring punch from the backcourt. That is why the team has pursued Allen Iverson this summer. AI brings the scoring punch to make the second team viable and he has the experience to help raise the level of play in the starting backcourt but does he want that role? Judging from early indications he doesn't and bringing him here with that attitude could be dangerous for an already suspect position on the team.Â
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Comments
I expect Hollins to focus on ball movement across the entire team this year. I remember seeing something about either the Celtics or Cavs putting a premium on the "pre-assist" -- the pass right before the actual assist to the scoring basket. It was like a running thing with the players, and they took pride in making the pass that led to the pass that led to a basket.
The big thing is going to be getting guys to buy into a team-first concept. We have oodles of talent. If they play team first, we can really shake up the league.