After regaining their confidence, swagger, Grizzlies look to improve

La Bomba · Apr 18, 2009

One by one, they stacked boxes of sneakers and filled black garbage bags with items from their FedExForum lockers.

The Grizzlies packed up the 2008-09 season Thursday morning with a 24-58 record following the youngest rebuilding season during their time in Memphis. As they move on to Year 2 of the much talked about Three-Year Plan, the Griz must determine how much is worth keeping and what to throw away.

Of the 14 players who started the season, seven were 23 years old or younger.

What did that makeup yield after a campaign centered on team building, player development and coaching more than the won/lost record?

The Griz went from scrappy to scrambled, and then they were searching for anything to regroup. In the end, the Griz just may have instilled a sense of hope that there is a foundation in place to build a bright future.

"Everybody got their swagger back. Everybody got their confidence," second-year point guard Mike Conley said. "Everybody started to believe we could win games and not just play a team close. The last 20 games were a big step from that aspect.

"We had more respect for each other. We trusted each other. We became more of a team. Before, we were more individuals, trying to go one-on-one too much. But the teamwork was evident, with guys making extra passes and being unselfish. The end result is that everybody looked good and we were playing better."

Former interim coach and long-time Grizzlies assistant Lionel Hollins, 13-26 after taking over the team on Jan. 25, oversaw improvement in several statistical categories with a tougher schedule than his predecessor.

The Grizzlies scored more points (95.1), shot a higher overall percentage (.460), improved from 3-point range (.399), averaged more assists (18.3) and held opponents to a lower shooting percentage (.466).

"We definitely clicked better," rookie center Marc Gasol said. "We started to understand the intensity that everybody else plays with. There were small things that cost us games. But this team believes in what this coaching staff was telling us. We believe because we worked very hard in practice and it carried over into the games."

After Hollins was hired, five different Grizzlies (Conley, Gasol, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay and Hakim Warrick) scored 30-plus points in a game, with all of those players aside from Gay either setting or tying career highs in points. Before the Hollins hire, only Mayo had scored 30-plus points in a game this season.

"I would say that's the biggest thing we accomplished at the end. We learned how to play together," Gay said. "We came out here and worked hard. If we start like that at the beginning of (next) season, there's no telling what we can do."

Mayo, who finished with the franchise's rookie record in points and minutes, said a good place to start in terms of improving is maturation.

There were a number of times, even under Hollins, when the Griz couldn't run from the fact that they started three rookies (Mayo, Gasol, Darrell Arthur), a second-year player (Conley) and a third-year forward (Gay) working with his fourth coach.

"There have been a lot of times this year that we've been in position to win games against some of the top teams in the NBA and our youth cost us," Mayo said. "But for us to be a young team and fairly new to each other, we came together and ended the season on a positive note."

Said fourth-year forward Warrick: "We're striving to come back as one of the most improved teams in the league."

Now, the ball is in team management/ownership's court.

"We're pleased with the progress but we're not content," Griz general manager Chris Wallace said. "There was progress made, particularly once Lionel came on board. Individually, players stepped up their play. Collectively, we got much more competitive, more focused and in better condition. But I'm not going to do cartwheels down Beale Street over a 24-win season. That's not the way it works. We've got to get better."
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http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/apr/17/feel-good-finish/

drexlersdad · Apr 18, 2009

if they luck out and get blake griff they might get near .500 next year.

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After regaining their confidence, swagger, Grizzlies look to improve

La Bomba The Future

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After regaining their confidence, swagger, Grizzlies look to improve

La Bomba The Future

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