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Friday, August 31, 2007

The Grizzlies Could Be Decent This Year


For rillz, look at their roster (and ignore the fact that they have 17 guys on it) and think about the lineup they could theoretically field:

C: Darko
PF: Gasol
SF: Gay
SG: Miller
PG: Conley
Bench: Warrick, Lowry, Navarro, Swift, Cardinal

Note: I’m assuming that Stoudemire will be gone eventually

Doesn’t that seem like a competitive team? At the very least, with Iavaroni at the helm, this team can score some serious points. I’m not totally sold on Conley as a sure thing PG, but in an up-tempo system he could be destructive. And when Gasol inevitably gets hurt, inserting Warrick as a starter makes this team even faster and better defensively.

Aside from the fact that these guys are a mosaic (4-year college guys, foreigners, 1-and-dones) where the Bobcats are carefully assembled; aren’t they pretty much Charlotte West? And aren’t we all pretty excited to see what happens with the Bobcats this year? Gasol is a go-to scorer and a solid rebounder, Darko protects the glass, Miller shoots the lights out, and everybody else sprints. It’s a model that can work for sure; a hybrid of the Suns and the Warriors.

Of course Conley and Navarro are rookies, Gay only sometimes cares about playing basketball, Mike Miller looks like a girl, Gasol is always hurt or unhappy, Warrick is basically Stro Swift with 9 extra brain cells, Cardinal is a thief, Darko is Darko, Lowry is coming back from an injury, and their coach has never been a head guy before. Plus there are about 18 more reasons this team could be horribly brutal, but can’t I dream that a team that looks like something that I’d put together on Playstation could actually be somewhat competitive? Is it such a stretch that these guys could be seeded anywhere from 6-8 in the West, and win a series if they get the right match up?

Either way, they’re going to be hilarious to watch on League Pass late at night.