Memphis Grizzlies
"Their team is kind of a house of cards right now. They have some good players, obviously Gasol, Conley, they signed Parsons. But all three of those guys have significant injury histories. That could really blow up in their face. ... If they get something like 9,000 total minutes out of Conley, Parsons, and Gasol, they're in great shape. That means they each play like 37 minutes-a-game, 80 games each for those guys. That's around 3,000 minutes from three guys. So if they get that, they're in great shape. But they won't. ... If they get more like 6,000 minutes from those guys, so like, 30 minutes-a-game for 65 games from each of those guys, then they'll be around .500. Health is a huge factor. ... I've heard nothing but good things about David Fizdale as a person. Players love him, people that work with him love him. But nobody has told me that he's a brilliant coach. Everyone's sold on him as a person, and nobody knows yet whether he can coach. ... Joerger, I'm not going to say he's perfect and he obviously had some issues with management. But he had a lot of good teams with a flawed, injured roster ... So depending on how Fizdale does his first year coaching, and how healthy they stay, they could be a team that drops off and is under .500 with moderate injuries. ... They just don't have much quality depth. Tony Allen, Vince Carter, Jordan Farmer, Brandan Wright. They drafted Wade Baldwin, but he's probably not ready to play ... Jamychal Green is secretly OK, but their bench is a problem even if there are no injuries. If there are any injuries they could be in a lot of trouble ... To expect a ton from Wade Baldwin this year is probably not wise, but he's very talented. He'll be able to help some off the bench, and he'll have some nice moments. … The biggest concern I had with Wade in the draft is that he can be sort of hard-headed and difficult. Not the easiest guy to coach, not the easiest guy to get along with, not super mature. That's one big advantage the Griz have with Fizdale there. Everyone says he's outstanding with relationships with the players. Guys want to go to war for him. A lot of coaches would have difficulty connecting with Wade Baldwin and getting him on board and bought in to his role, but Fizdale will probably do a good job with that. ... If they stay perfectly healthy and are well-coached, they could be pretty good and compete in the middle of the West. But it wouldn't surprise me at all if they missed the playoffs. ... It's hard to know with Gasol and Conley. They could easily have another few great years if they stay healthy. They're not so old or so injured, but they're both coming off leg injuries that could have them miss more games ... Z-Bo is coming pretty close to the end at this point. For 20 minutes a game scoring on other team's bench units, he's still effective. But against good players in extended minutes, he just can't do it."
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