The Memphis Grizzlies Are Spiraling Out Of NBA Relevancy

Having lost by an average of 27.5 points, the Memphis Grizzlies are spiraling out of NBA Relevance. Is it time to make a drastic move?  

The 2015-2016 NBA season is a mere nine days old and NBA fans across the country are already having to swallow difficult probabilities on their favorite Western Conference team.

There is no way around it. The Memphis Grizzlies are spiraling.

The curious squad stands alone as a team stuck in a long forgotten formula era of big men, long twos, and traditional defensive practices.  In a league dominated by the wily three-point bombings of Stephen Curry and Co., the Memphis Grizzlies may finally be a team too old-school to contend.

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The Grizzlies are 3-4, a record that could be an indicator only of a slow start, especially when considering that the Oklahoma City Thunder are at a similarly dreary 4-3. The difference, however, is that the Thunder have two of the top five NBA players, meanwhile the Grizzlies are touting slow-footed bulldozer Zach Randolph, a rusty or regressed Marc Gasol, and solid point guard Mike Conley as their core. Gasol will find ways to increase his atrocious shooting percentage of 39 percent and Conley will orchestrate something out of the current mess, but it is difficult to accept that this currently constructed team can finish with even a .500 win percentage in the loaded Western Conference.

One thing to focus on is the way in which Memphis has lost these early games. They lost by an average of 27.3 points in the four defeats, losing by a staggering 50 points to Golden State, the NBA champions. It is becoming apparent that changes need to be made, whether from the roster, coaching, or front office.

According to Marc Stein of ESPN:

"“It’s the manner of the three defeats, sources say, that has led to fears within the organization that owner Robert Pera won’t wait long to make a drastic change."

This team can grind out wins in the regular season, it’s what they were built to do and it’s what they have been very successful at doing. However, the days of Thunder and Spurs fans biting their nails as playoff Randolph banks in another impossible game-tying shot are long gone. There are too many ways to make their already anemic offense even more lifeless. Additionally, no Western Conference team goes through the gauntlet only to consistently be early round playoff fodder.

If Memphis finds a way to keep their playoff streak alive, it will be difficult to see their offense taking them anywhere past a first round exit.

We all saw in the 2015 playoffs how Golden State Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, put the lumbering center Andrew Bogut on Grizzlies defensive wing super-sub, Tony Allen. His lack of an offensive game gave Bogut free range to pack the paint and serve as a giant free safety, disrupting passes and offensive cohesion. It was disrespectful and dismantling. It now serves as a method as good as any to grind Memphis’s gears to a halt.

While some would paint Memphis and Golden State as polar-opposites, that is not the entire picture. The Memphis Grizzlies are a team built on hard-nosed defense and superior passing. Golden State is a team built on a hard-nosed defense and superior passing – and offensive versatility, and athleticism, and defensive versatility, and the best three-point shooting the world has ever seen. The Warriors sported a top 10 offense and defense, and are built to do so for years to come.

The Grizzlies have known of their own subpar shooting for years, yet have maintained a hesitancy to dip into free agency and alleviate their issues. While the most recent additions of Courtney Lee, Jeff Green and Matt Barnes are nice, even they cannot fix the institutional problem of stagnancy.

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Many NBA fans and analysts have automatically penciled in this aging and defunct team into the playoffs, expect that billing to change quickly if the Grizzlies themselves are unwilling to change.

The Memphis Grizzlies and their skill set are but a single and rusting tool that cannot compare to or adequately compete with the multifaceted tool belts being rolled out of the Western Conference on a daily basis.