There was no grand finale for the grit-and-grind era of the Memphis Grizzlies.
They were pulverized by the injury bug and torn down by trades in 2015-16. By season's end, they had suited up a league-record 28 different players and entered the playoffs with only one opening-night starter in action.
Rather than bank on good health and a familiar formula to reascend the Western Conference ladder, Memphis spent the summer modernizing its strategies.
Skipper Dave Joerger—a reluctant-but-willing grit-and-grind overseer—was ousted and replaced by longtime NBA assistant David Fizdale. Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons collected more than $247 million in free agency to juice a Grizzlies attack finally ready to embrace pace-and-space.
"I've talked to all the guys and they understand where the league is at," Fizdale said, per CBS Sports' Matt Moore. "If we think we're going to play in the 80s and win anything, we're sadly mistaken. And they understand that and I think we're going to have a committed group to playing at a faster tempo."
The Grizzlies have talked about accelerating befo ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Zach Buckley
Memphis Grizzlies Complete 2016-17 Preview
October 1st, 2016 by Zach Buckley Leave a reply »
Advertisement