The Bench!!
Hey Grizz fans. Sorry about the absence. There has been a lot going on the last few weeks. But I’m back. Now what has happened since I’ve been gone? The Grizzlies have lost a few games….and won a few games….we’ve sent two players to the D League…Thabeet and Hudson. And we’ve acquired Brewer in a trade and then turned around and lost him in the first game he played with the Grizz. Now when I was watching that on tv my jaw hit the floor…I couldn’t say anything except…..”Are you serious?” I think that right there proved just how bad our luck can be at times. Memphis still have their sites on the playoffs though. They sit 4 games out of the 8th and final spot in the West, behind a very strong Portland. Don’t get me wrong, the Grizzlies are still winning games. But we haven’t been able to put together a streak the way we were doing earlier in the season but we are winning. We win one, then lose one then win one, etc. Now we have won 2 games in a row so we may be able to put together a run in the stretch run. But I’m ecstatic. Wanna know why? Because the bench has finally answered my prayers. They’re playing better. They’re playing with heart. They are finally carrying their weight. Allowing the startes to get much needed rest during games. The Grizz have been messing with the bench for awhile now and finally chose the bench stars. Hudson and Thabeet are out. Marcus Williams, Sam Young, Darrell Arthur, and Hamed Haddadi are in. These guys have started getting more minutes as Hollins and the team have shown confidence in them. And they haven’t disappointed. Defense, scoring, rebounding, these guys have been doing it all. With the bench playing so well it almost seems as if a 4, 5, 6, or even 7 game win streak is inevitable. But I’m going to do my best and keep a level head….its going to be hard too though because this is the key I’ve been harping on for months. Bench play….being able to maintain control of the game while the starters were out. With the starters being able to rest I’m expecting their play to mimic their play of a couple of months ago. But even if we go on a win streak we need some help from Portland. We need them to lose some games….but not only that we need the Grizz to go back to their roots. Making FedExForum a tough place to play and winning home games. Believe it or not we’ve been winning more games on the road lately than at home. But we get to face San Antonio tonight at home. A team that we are more than capable of beating. I’m excited about this stretch run Grizz fans. Are you? Read the rest of this entry >>
Hey Grizz fans here are some rumors to chew on this week: 
Right now the Grizzlies are sitting at the 11th spot on the Western Conference. Yes you read that correctly 11th. How is this possible? Just last week the Grizzlies were sitting at the 7th spot in the West…..Well the Grizz have dropped 3 in a row and 4 of their last 5 games. Now it is true that the Grizz have had a tough stretch of back to back games but I mean come on. Losing to the Timberwolves? With the loss to the Timberwolves the Grizz are 1-11 in the second game of back to backs. I can understand it when you lose to Cleaveland after playing the Lakers and beating them the night before. It was a high octane hard fought game so I can understand the team looking tired and being a little off in Cleavland. Ok then you get a days rest and have to face the Rockets. But the Rockets totally outplayed the Grizz in the second half blowing open a game that had been close. Then after that game the Grizz had to go to Minnesota where they were once again outplayed in the second half. Particularly the 4th quarter. Now I know this is the NBA so every team has a “shot” at beating you but I mean come on. The Timberwolves are 13-38……they have the worst record in the West. And its not like the Timberwolves outplayed us the entire game……no the Grizz let them back in the game by fading in the second half. Mainly defensively. This is the one thing that drives me crazy about this team. We are a good team. We do have the talent to beat just about anyone in the league. But we fade in the second half. We blow leads. We stop hitting shots. We start getting lazy in defense. Its frustrating and disheartening at the same time. And this problem hasn’t started just this year. This has been a problem almost every year. I don’t care who coaches this team it is almost as if we’re cursed to fade in the second half….particularly the 4th quarter. I guess its fatigue. We expend all of our energy in the first half and don’t have anything left in the second half. So with the 2nd half fade the Timberwolves….a team with the worst record in the West…..managed to shoot 70% in the second half. Al Jefferson helped push the Timberwolves past the Grizz by scoring 12 straight when the Grizz held a 7 point lead early in the 4th….It seems like when we blow leads it always boils down to one person on the other team just taking over….and it isn’t always the star of the team that takes over….the Grizz managed to score 135 points the last time these teams met……but barely got over 100 this time. ….With a 70% shooting percentage there seemed to be a lack of effort at times….But its hard for Hollins to bench the starters cause our bench has left a lot to be desired. Nonetheless if the players are showing lack of effort or are gasping for air then bench them. Get them a break. And if the bench players play the same way then bench them. Threaten them with a trade. Find some way to get them motivated and pick up the slack. There’s nothing more frustrating as a fan than watching your team blow leads consistently…..and watching the other team score on your team fairly easily…..especially when that team is Minnesota. But its just as bad when its another team don’t get me wrong but its a little more understandable when its Kobe or Lebron scoring on your team with ease….Because they score on any and everyone….But Minnesota? Who do they consistently score on? Nobody! But enough about Minnesota. Lets not forget about our game against New Orleans. A team that was short handed. They were missing Chris Paul and James Posey. The two players that took over the game in the previous meeting between these two team but yet we manage to blow a 21 point lead in the second half and ended up losing. Thats pretty frustrating as a fan as well so I can only imagine how the players felt. The starters can’t do it all tho. The Grizz need help on the bench and fast. Do we still have a shot at making the playoffs? Of course we do but we have to win games and whats one of the keys to winning? Closing, closing, closing…..finishing the game strong. Playing strong on defense. Lets say we do make the playoffs. If we don’t correct our second half issues then we might as well go ahead and get out the brooms because whoever we play is going to take the series in 4. But if we can close games then I expect us to get be competitive and get our first playoff win this year. But of course its one step at a time. First we have to turn this slump around and start winning. Then maybe we can talk playoffs again…..if not then we’re going to be saying the cliche saying…….There’s always next year…… 
I love the NCAA. The games are so full of passion and heart. The players are playing on pride….not money. The NCAA fans are also so full of passion and energy. The college game atmosphere is breathtaking. But there are things that I don’t like about college sports. The main thing I don’t like is the BCS system in football. Another thing that I don’t like is this new trend of coaches running away from trouble……I am going to talk about the latter. I am a strong believer in doing the time when you’ve done the crime but one thing I really don’t understand is forcing schools to do the time…..in the past….or in other words taking away wins or championships from the past. Another thing I don’t understand is when the Coach is able to walk away free. No punishment. Yeah maybe a few wins from the past will be omitted but nothing that is harsh in my opinion. So I guess I have a few questions. The first being what good does it do to take away championships or wins from the past? I mean you take away the wins from the “record books” but it’s not like you can take away the experiences and memories of the players, coaches, fans, etc. You can’t literally take away something that has happened so why not just focus on the future? Make it so that when a school gets in trouble they are restricted from being in a NCAA Tournament or Bowl game for 2 years or 4 years etc. And make them pay a hefty fine. Now I know the NCAA already does this but it seems to be the exception….instead the common punishment is to take away the past. Which as I already stated really doesn’t do anything in my opinion because even though the record is erased from the books everyone will always remember the game and how they felt during the game and the celebrations they had after the game etc. I mean don’t get me wrong. It does dishearten a school and its alumni to take away the ability to call your school “official” national champions of one year or to take away your “official” school best in wins for a season or whatever other achievements the school may have accomplished that season. Now if the NCAA had a Men in Black memory wiping type of device then I would understand the erasing of the past punishment. If the NCAA had such a device I would wear Ray Ban sunglasses to all college sporting events and while watching all college games on TV but that’s another story……the point is they don’t have such a device. So in my opinion affecting the future hurts way more than affecting the past. If we catch a spouse or loved one in an act of wrongdoing that directly affects us we don’t tell them to forget the great memories that were shared in the past. Instead we focus on the future. We tell them to forget a future or we forgive them and give them a future or we give them a future with “terms” such as a tighter leash etc. So why can’t the NCAA take the same approach. The reason why I’m stuck on that is because if you focus on the future then you have the possibility to punish the coach in a way that will hurt him more. Instead of taking away wins in the past, take away wins from the future season or seasons. Force a team to start 0-5 or 0-10 without having played a game in the season. And ban them from NCAA tournaments for a couple of years as well if the offense is serious enough. That will cause schools to keep a tighter leash on their staff and people associated with the school. Another question I have is why the school and coach can’t split the punishment. In other words if the NCAA says that the school can’t go to a tournament for the next 4 years or if they have to start 0-6 for the next 4 years then why not do this……if the coach stays at the school for the entire time then the coach and school will both suffer somewhat….but if the coach takes another job at another school it isn’t fair that the school suffers while the coach starts over so why not force the coach and school to split the punishment 50/50? So if the coach leaves right away the school should only have to serve half the punishment. So if a school is banned from tournaments for 4 years and the coach leaves right away then he should take 2 years of restrictions with him wherever he goes and the school only has to do 2 years of restrictions…….everything should be split 50/50. But what if the coach goes pro? Then the school restrictions are cut in half and the coach’s restrictions are waiting on him….which means if he ever comes back to the NCAA then his 2 year restrictions or whatever will still be in effect for whatever school he goes to. If they have something like that in place then I feel as though schools will be less willing to hire coaches under review or coaches who have just been punished by the NCAA. Why should coaches be able to run away from problems? If a player is punished by the NCAA it follows them wherever they go. Heck if a player transfers to another school after committing to one school he has to sit out a year before being eligible to play. So why not have something similar for coaches who are in trouble. If they get in trouble then they can’t leave for the pros or another school for a year. What will that do you ask? It will force coaches to keep tighter leashes on their players. And it will force coaches that know of wrongdoing to do something about it…..and it will prevent the up and coming trend of running away from trouble…… 
