NBA JAM: MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

In our continuing rundown on the NBA season, Neate looks at the Southwest Division, specifically the Memphis Grizzlies.

Last season: 49-33, 5th in Western Conference, lost 4-0 to Dallas in first round of playoffs
Coach: Mike Fratello
New faces: Rudy Gay, Stromile Swift
Funny-looking white guy: Pau Gasol (pictured)
Blogs: The Beale Street Beat, Beyond The Arc

First off, do you know about the conspiracy theory surrounding why the Grizzlies are in Memphis and not in Vancouver?

It goes like this: The NBA never really wanted a franchise in Vancouver, but nor did it want the Raptors to go it alone as Canada's only team. So it put a team in Vancouver, figuring that it would flop and become a prime candidate for relocation.

The franchise's original owners, of course, were total neophytes when it came to this basketball thing, so they naively asked the NBA people to recommend someone to head up the basketball operation. The NBA came back with Stu Jackson, the ex-Knicks coach who was working in their New York office. They apparently figured they'd feed two birds with one scone -- get Jackson out of the office, and put him in a position to undermine the Grizzlies franchise so eventually, the plug would have to be pulled in Vancouver.

Maybe so, maybe not, but either way, it's been five years and no one seems to remember Vancouver was once a NBA city.

Anyway, as for this year's Grizz, GM Jerry West, the greatest NBA executive in history not named Red Auerbach, is rebuilding after three straight first-round playoff sweeps. He took a first-round flyer on Rudy Gay, figuring that he could finally play consistently over 82 games, even though he never did in a 35-game college season at UConn. It's worth noting that Gay did garner good notices in pre-season.

The rest is a schmozzle, though, especially with top scorer Pau Gasol out for the early part of the season. Nearly every other player is either getting on in years (Eddie Jones, Damon Stoudamire) or is very young, with the exception of reigning Sixth Man Award winner Mike Miller.

Meantime, Mike Fratello has to try to work in the raw youngsters -- who include former Syracuse Final Four hero Hakim Warrick -- into the lineup while he's coaching for his contract. So it says here the Grizzlies will miss the playoffs, but look out for them in '07-08 when they have a new coach.

(By the way, Neil Acharya really should have been the one to write this, since his parents' house still has a basketball hoop with a Vancouver Grizzlies logo on the backboard.)

Also in Southwest Division: Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets, San Antonio Spurs

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.