The Memphis Grizzlies are heading into a very anticipated season for the franchise, as they made their first appearance in the Western conference finals last postseason and now they come into 2013-14 looking to get even better and with a new coach and new system in place, Marc Gasol will be the leader of that attack.
Gasol had himself a great season last year and now he comes in as one of the best defensive centers in the league and the team comes in with a target on their backs, as they will not be able to surprise anyone anymore after making the run to the conference finals. The team won over 50 games and had a great run through the postseason, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder and then losing to the San Antonio Spurs in their first conference finals appearance and now they will be looking for even more.
The team won 56 games and finished just behind the Spurs in the standings and after doing that and playing them tough in the postseason, the team feels that they can make the jump to one of the elite teams in the NBA. Rudy Gay was tops in scoring for the team last season, but he is now gone and statistical analysis is king with the team and now Mike Conley will get the chance to be the true leader, as he was tops on the team in assists and steals last season. Zach Randolph and Gasol give Memphis one of the best front courts in the league and the team feels it can compete with those two in the west.
The team has made some solid additions while not losing much, as they signed back Mike Miller after he was released by the Miami Heat and they have some young talent in Ed Davis and Kosta Koufos and with Lionel Hollins out, Dave Joerger takes over and it will be very interesting to see how all that goes after the solid job Hollins did last season.
The Grizzlies come into the season after ranking 27th in scoring per game with just 93 points, but they were the best defensive team in the NBA with Gasol and now they will have the chance to continue that with Randolph as well. Adding Miller could help with the scoring and the team was solid down low, ranking 11th in rebounds per game, while they were 24th in assists. The team is 4-3 in the preseason and is coming off of a win against the Hawks and they will next play the Houston Rockets, a team that is expected to compete for a championship this season.
