Thursday, January 17, 2008

The Grizzlies are Terrible

Sure, there are reasons to be optimistic. Yes, the Grizzlies have improved incrementally over last year.

But I'm sure as hell tired of waiting for next year. It's becoming an annual tradition. - hoping for a better future - waiting for that missing piece - longing for excitement to ignite the fan base.

The Grizzlies are a bad team. Being a fan is not fun. They don't play defense. They can't finish in the clutch, and they lose. Constantly.

So what the fuck is going to happen to change this piss poor excuse of a franchise? (I won't bother looking the record breaking losing percentages the Grizzlies own for the regular season and the playoffs.)

What are teams - the Lakers, Suns, Spurs, Jazz - doing differently to maintain playoff contenders with only slight interruptions going on two decades? All teams go through bad spells, but not all teams (though the Grizzlies aren't alone) consistently have bad teams.

One things for sure, the Grizzlies need to be actively seeking change. They can't fall in love with players at the expense of improving. When Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen become available, they have to trade away promising young stars, future draft picks, and salary cap relief.

Yes, there's reason for hope, but there's a shitload more reason to not give a fuck.

1 comment:

Mike said...

sorry your team is so bad. sometimes it seems like my stones lucked out at all five positions(like getting chauncey before he established himself as one of the best pg's in the league, landing tay in the draft, getting sheed at the trade deadline, trading stack for rip, getting ben in the deal that sent ghill to orlando, etc.), and that's what got us out of our post-grant hill era blues.

The part that wasn't luck, and I think is necessary for any team to succeed, is salary cap savy and good coaching. You can't accidentally pay Brian Cardinal too much without paying for it. Also, good defense and good ball movement are what make a team. Carlisle and Brown did a good job of instilling that in the team. (you'd be smart to get Carlisle if you can.) Those things are second nature now. If the Pistons had average defense and average ball movement, they'd be an average team. Instead they're one of the best in the league.