As I get ready for my own Griz preview stuff over the next couple of weeks, let’s start with a survey of other Griz previews around the web:
John Hollinger:
Hollinger’s team preview is on ESPN Insider, so you won’t be able to read it without those privileges. But he projects the Grizzlies to go 27-55, deriding both the team’s offseason moves and the decision-making process that went into them. Hollinger wonders how the addition of shot-happy scorers Allen Iverson and Zach Randolph will really help an offense that was 28th overall last season and a distant last in percentage of assisted baskets.
Hollinger also makes a point that I made in my Lindy’s preview and will make again in my upcoming Flyer preview: That even in winning a mere 24 games last season, the Grizzlies were unusually fortunate in the health department, the top five players on the roster missing a total of 3 games. That was unlikely to repeat itself this season even before the Grizzlies added an aging (and already injured) Iverson and a relatively injury prone Randolph.
I think Hollinger makes a good point about the depth and diversity of the team’s frontcourt rotation and how it could potentially be used against different kinds of match-ups, though he points out that the slowness of a likely Randolph/Gasol starting pairing could cause problems defensively. This is something that was on display last night against the Hawks.
Though I’m not ready to make my own prediction on the Grizzlies’ record this season, I think Hollinger’s rationale is sound, especially as regards to the Iverson and Randolph signings and the decision to let Hakim Warrick walk
There are a couple of details in Hollinger’s preview I take issue with:
