Last Season: The bright spots were O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol. Mayo had a fantastic rookie year averaging 18.5 ppg. The other Gasol proved his brother is not the only one with talent. Marc Gasol doesn’t have the shot or passing ability that his brother does but he is much more physical and definitely exceeded expectations. The Grizzlies however, landed just about where everyone expected – near the bottom. They finished at 24-58 good for seventh worst in the NBA.

Acquisitions: G Allen Iverson, F Zach Randolph, C Hasheem Thabeet, F DeMarre Carroll, G Marcus Williams, F Sam Young, C Steven Hunter, F Trey Gilder

Departures: F Hakim Warrick, C Darko Milicic, G-F Quinton Ross, F Darius Miles, G Greg Buckner, C Chris Mihm

Starting Five: F Rudy Gay, F Zach Randolph, C Marc Gasol, G Allen Iverson, G O.J. Mayo

Bench Mob: Darrell Arthur, Mike Conley, Marko Jaric, Hasheem Thabeet, Marcus Williams, DeMarre Carroll, Sam Young

Most Interesting Man in the World: Marko Jaric – AKA “The Luckiest Man Alive”

Over the Hill: Allen Iverson – His stats took a huge hit last year as he was relegated to a bench player for the Pistons. His scoring average might increase (if a hamstring issue doesn’t cause him to miss serious time) but he will shoot a low percentage and won’t help this team win.

Ready to Break Out: Given their starting lineup I have no clue who could break out. The only potential player I see who could surprise people is Hasheem Thabeet. He won’t average many points but could make a big impact on the defensive end.

Outlook: I have no idea what the Grizzlies are doing. Why in the world did they pick up Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson? Does AI still sell tickets? All five of their starters need and want the ball and that’s a huge recipe for disaster. There aren’t enough shots in a game to satisfy Gay, Randolph, Iverson, and Mayo. Iverson is now dealing with a hamstring issue that will keep him out until at least the beginning of the season and hamstring issues have a tendency to linger. Many think 2nd overall pick, Hasheem Thabeet has bust written all over him but he might gel well in this offense. He won’t need the ball on the offensive end and should be a force defensively on a team that desperately needs someone to attempt to play defense. They will win some games with their offensive firepower but they will be among the worst teams in the league yet again.

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