<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">With their All-Star forward Pau Gasol putting up career-high numbers of 20.4 points and 8.9 rebounds a game last season, the Grizzlies still found themselves near the bottom of the league in both rebounding and scoring. With Gasol sidelined this year while recovering from a broken foot, could those departments get worse? Not at all. In fact, through three games, the Griz have more than held their own, thanks to the combined frontcourt efforts of Hakim Warrick, Lawrence Roberts, Jake Tsakalidis, Brian Cardinal and Alexander Johnson. After ranking 28th in rebounding (39.2 rpg) and 27th in scoring (92.2 ppg) last year, the Grizzlies have made significant strides early. The frontcourt has played a huge role in the team's current rankings, which are fourth in the league in rebounding (47.3 rpg) and 14th in scoring (99.7 ppg). ''I think they're playing their hearts out, I really do,'' Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello said. ''I think they're giving us everything they can. We understand we have to play to a certain level if we're going to hang in these games. It's going to take that maximum level every night for us to get a win. To get that effort and that kind of energy, and they play unselfishly -- you're gonna miss shots, you're gonna make mistakes -- but at least you give yourself a chance.'' Warrick, a 6-9 second-year forward out of Syracuse, has nearly duplicated Gasol's numbers by himself. In turning in the top two scoring games of his young career, Warrick has averaged 19.3 points and 8.0 boards a game in his new starting role at power forward. </div> Source
