<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Grizzlies forward Hakim Warrick tried his best to relax and release the malaise of last season.</p> But his self-prescribed remedy for playing on a team that finished with the NBA's worst record didn't exactly produce the desired effect. </p> Warrick decided that he wouldn't watch playoff games in order to rejuvenate.</p> "And my boycott lasted about two or three games," Warrick confessed. "I had to watch the Mavs-Warriors series. Then I got bored and had to get back in the gym."</p> So much for wallowing in self pity.</p> "I picked up where I left off last summer," he said.</p> Displaying the commitment and work ethic he has each offseason, Warrick focused on developing consistency with his mid-range shot.</p> He's already done plenty to impress new head coach Marc Iavaroni, who believes a relentless Warrick around the rim can flourish with the up-tempo, free-flowing style that the Griz intend to play.</p> No wonder Warrick was glued to that Dallas-Golden State track meet during the playoffs.</p> "I'm looking forward to this season because I think the opportunity will be there for me. It's going to be an up-tempo system. Coach said he wants us to get out there and run," Warrick said after working out with several teammates last week in FedExForum.</p> Early conversations with Iavaroni coupled with intense offseason workouts -- that again included former Syracuse teammate Carmelo Anthony -- have Warrick more encouraged heading into his third NBA season than the previous ones.</p> Part of Warrick's optimism has to do with the comfort of knowing exactly what Iavaroni expects. His role and playing time constantly changed in each of Warrick's first two seasons since being drafted by the Griz in 2005.</p> Warrick is about to work for his third coach, too.</p> "But you can tell the whole atmosphere has changed," Warrick said. "There were a lot of things up in the air last year.</p> "Now, we can just go out and play."</p> Iavaroni envisions Warrick as an energy guy -- someone who is a "relentless rebounder" who can score.</p> "He doesn't shy away from contact and so we need him to be someone who is going to the glass every time," Iavaroni said of Warrick. "He also has to be a great runner, and he's a good runner right now."</p> Last season, Warrick proved he knows what to do with the basketball when asked to score. He gave the Griz consistent scoring punch in the paint while Pau Gasol sat with a broken foot for two months.</div></p> Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal</p>
