Just for anyone else who thinks the Grizzlies might be good this year. ZBo, AI, Mayo and Gay are all known primarily for their offense, yet their teams finished 27th, 28th and 29th in the league in scoring. Why is that? They are all players who score a high volume of points, but do so very inefficiently. ZBo is the only one of the four that shot a higher FG% than his teammates. These are all guys who averaged 1.18 - 1.19 PTS/FGA. By comparison, Brandon Roy averaged 1.34 PTS/FGA. While that may not sound like a big difference, it's actually quite a large differential in scoring efficiency (a difference of 15 - 16 points per 100 FGA). Memphis now has four guys who demand a lot of shots, but make very inefficient use of those shots. And then there's defense. None of these guys are known as even average defenders, and a couple of them are flat out horrible on defense (assuming they even try to play any). Inefficient offense + no defense = lots of losses Did the Clippers get better when they added ZBo? Did the Pistons get better when they traded Billups for AI? Why would adding those two guys to the already sucky Grizzlies suddenly make them a good team? BNM
The difference is Frye was expected to contribute as part of the regular rotation. Howard is our 13th or 14th man. BNM
well said. if Frye was our 13th or 14th man, then Rocketeer's comment would be accurate. Cause Frye would be a better player. But I dont think will come anywhere NEAR what Juwan will offer in the clubhouse. Plus he can be our Goon and can turn a pretty good SG into someone with the nickname "glass" and a fragile mentality. IE DA
I'm late to the party here, but I gotta say I don't particularly like this signing. We drafted nobody that could help us this year up front, and then we signed no one that could help us up front. Howard is gonna be 37 in February, and he's been DONE in terms of production for a couple of years. Stromile Swift is 6.5 years younger and while he was terrible last year, he would be much more likely to contribute to the team on the court than Juwan. Ed O.
I think KP viewed Howard as a vet who can mentor/teach the bigs. At the vet min., why not? The 3rd string PF really shouldn't be an issue.
I have to think so too, given that they didn't even work him out before signing him. Nate or KP must really like him for some reason other than playing. barfo
Because it might be a better idea to actually have someone who can play in that roster spot. It was an issue last year. I have no idea why it suddenly wouldn't be this year. Ed O.
So, who was available that could have helped up front? Keep in mind that Portland was the #1 rebounding team in the NBA, right?
So what is the problem then? You can agree that he will provide a lot more mentoring and veteran leadership then Ruffin and ShavBo right? So maybe this is not a bad thing?! I like this post! I agree completely and more fans need to realize that is what he is for. What if Martell fails this year? Then who will play backup 3? Outlaw!!! A second unit of Blake\Rudy\Outlaw\Howard\Joel sounds pretty good to me!!! hahahaha this made me chuckle! I never thought of that. Very good point! This post is confusing lol Really? Not at all? So you are saying he doesn't have 15 years of experience to teach the younger guys? That is worth more than Frye in itself. And I got love for Frye, but good Lord that guy was a fucking pansy. Made us look soft. Do you really think we need Howard or whoever we would fill with 2nd\3rd PF spot to contribute in a big way? Do I just over-rate experience and veteran mentoring? I am perfectly happy with Juwan coming in for 10 minutes a game to give LMA a breather and whisper some tricks in his ear on the bench. "Hey LaMarcus, I have seen Duncan do that move before. Try this, it worked for me 8 years ago." I dunno, I can just see stuff like that happening.
Last year Travis Outlaw spent 2/3 of his minutes at SF and 1/3 at PF. With Martell Webster back, and Batum supposedly improving, there won't be many minutes for Outlaw at the 3. I personally don't think he's an ideal back-up power forward, but Nate seems to like to play him there. So, look for Outlaw to get almost all of the back-up 4 minutes this season - which will make 3rd string PF less of an issue this season than last. Aldridge will get his 36 - 37 mpg, and Travis will get the rest. BNM
I doubt Aldridge will be healthy again all year, and I am convinced that Outlaw is not a good backup power forward. I don't think that we should NOT have looked to upgrade the backup power forward merely to ensure that Outlaw gets minutes. Ed O.
then hire howard as a coach. i'm saying that howard is a terrible basketball player and is of no use to the blazers on the court. him seeing any minutes at all is a negative.
Why? The last significant injury issue he had was the shoulder surgery to repair a minor muscle tear prior to his rooike season - and even that was more of a preventative procedure. The heart thing was congenital and easily corrected with no long term ill effects. I understand that injuries are part of the game, but they are also unpredictable (in many cases). I just don't think you can assume a player with no recent sigificant injury history will suddenly become injury prone. Agreed, but that's the role Nate seems to like Outlaw to play. But we did look to upgrade the back-up PF spot. We tried to sign Paul Millsap to a huge contract, but Utah matched. We also drafted two bigs that could fill occasional minutes at the back-up 4. I would have preferred DeJuan Blair, but it's not like Pritchard completly overlooked our need for a back-up 4 in the draft. Of course, I would have also preferred Paul Millsap to Juwan Howard, but Utah matched, and if they wouldn't have, we would not have been able to sign Andre Miller. In the end, I think that worked out for the best as I think an upgrade at starting PG was a greater need than an upgrade at back-up PF. I'd personally like more power in my back-up power forward, but Outlaw does create mismatches when he plays the 4 spot. According to 82games.com, Outlaw has a net PER/48 of +3.1 when playing PF, compared to a net PER/48 of -3.1 when he plays the SF spot. So, while he may not be the ideal back-up PF, it does seem to be his most productive position. And, if that doesn't work out, and Martell is back and healthy, we could always trade Outlaw for a little muscle at the back-up power forward spot. He'd certainly fetch a MUCH better back-up 4 than we could get signing someone at the veteran's minimum. BNM
Is there someone else available that would sign a 1-year contract at the veteran's minimum that you feel would be a better use of our 14th roster spot. If so, who? He's cheap insurance in case one of the 4 or 5 guys in front of him in the rotation goes down with an injury. He may not be nearly as good as he once was, but he's not likely to make the kind of mental errors that would hurt the team like a younger player might. He's also a big body to bang with, and push our younger guys in practice. If he was an assistant coach (which he very well might be next season) a lot of his accumulated knowledge could be passed down verbally and through drills, but I think he can teach the young guys a few more tricks going against them head-to-head in practice. Then, move him to the bench as an assistant coach next season after his cheap, 1-year contract expires. BNM
Agreed here. Going into the season, I would have been OK with our second stringer at every position starting if necessary--except for PF. In no way, at no time, do I want to see Outlaw starting at the 4. Howard, however, I could live with (short term, of course).
Interestingly, it doesn't sound like McMillan expects him to play too much either, which I'm glad to hear. Emphasis mine. Rest of the Q&A with McMillan here.
Juwan Howard is going to be terrific for this team. I'm just listening to his interview on courtside and he seems so positive. That will be good in the lockerroom. And it will be good for Greg.
