Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Links: Identity, Turnovers, Growth, Damon a Buyout Candidate?

A variety of issues to survey in today's Links.

First up is Kenny "The Jet" Smith's take on the Grizzlies on Yahoo! Sports titled "Some teams still searching for an identity":

With a new coach, a new GM and added personnel, the Grizzlies are who they are. The Western Conference is just too deep and too strong for a team trying to find its way. The Grizzlies have a dominant low -post player in Pau Gasol, but his dominance extends to only one end of the court. The backcourt is either a bit too young (Mike
Conley
and (KyleLowry) or a bit too old (Damon Stoudamire). They are a team that will have to improve by trade.

Hmmm...that sounds a lot like what Chip and I have been saying since before the preseason. But what do we know?

Over on Grizz Blogs, Graham Kendrick made an interesting statistical observation in the latest edition of Musings from Media Row:
Memphis, Charlotte and Seattle have a combined record of 4-14 (.286). San Antonio, Orlando and Detroit have a combined record of 16-4 (.800). Why am I grouping those teams together? Memphis, Charlotte and Seattle have the three highest turnover averages in the NBA. San Antonio, Orlando and Detroit have the three lowest turnover averages.

Obviously, the turnovers are a concern for this young Memphis Grizzlies team and is something that Marc Iavaroni is sure to address with the team.

In yesterday's post on Pete's Perspective, play-by-play man Pete Pranica talks about the growth of this Grizzlies team and the struggles they have had so far. He has some great insight into the team and I highly recommend reading everything he posts.

Over on Rebuilding Year, they had a roundtable discussion about who the early buyout candidates are and not so surprisingly, Damon Stoudamire dominated the conversation. There was some good back-and-forth, with both sides represented very well. No matter what you think about Damon's place on the team, I suggest reading what they have to say.

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