[no1Participant]

Does anyone think Memphis will be a playoff team? they are loaded now mayo, gay, randolph, gasol, conley, thabeet they agot talent and depth

[Michael.S.Participant]

8th seed prediction for me.

[jeff416Participant]

I think they will they just have to much talent to not make the playoffs IF they all play as a team they could make a run in the playoffs and possibly take a team like the Lakers or San Antonio to 7 games but thats a big if.

[uneik1Participant]

from last in the Western Conference. Definitely ahead of Minnesota and Sacramento. Fight for 3rd or 4th worse with GS and Houston. Clips, Suns and OKC will finish ahead and fight 8th playoff spot.

[jeff416Participant]

I dont get why people put OKC or Clips ahead of Memphis. Memphis finished ahead of them a year ago and they added more talent than both of them in the off season and Phoenix hasnt done anything to get better either they have gotten worse with losing Shaq and Nash getting another year older.

[uneik1Participant]

lol. I see you like to give yourself points and take away points when someone doesn’t agree with you. It’s just my opinion about Memphis. We’ll see by late February wether they are a playoff team or not.

[jeff416Participant]

Just because I got a point means I gave myself a point? I didnt give myself a point even though I did give you a negative and thats because everyone that disagrees with me gives me a negative so why shouldnt I when I disagree with some one else?

[uneik1Participant]

I put Phoenix ahead of them because they know how to win and everyone knows their roles. Shaq wasn’t a good fit anyway. If Amare stays healthy they should fight for that 8th spot.

I put Clippers ahead because if B Davis stays healthy and gets along with the coach they have a better squad than Memphis.

I put OKC ahead because Durant is better than anyone on Memphis right now. He is clearly the go to guy. But more importantly Westbrook, Green and Harden COMPLIMENT each others game.

Memphis best players don’t compliment each other. None of them are spot up shooters. 3 of them don’t defend. And they all like to hold on to the ball too long to keep teammates moving. On paper they have impressive individual stats. Doesn’t make them a good team though.

[JoeWolf1]

Randolph strikes me as the type who will get his 20 and not necessarily help his team win. Now with Iverson in the mix with 2 young scorers in Gay and Mayo it doesn’t seem like there is enough shots to go around!! I don’t know to me the Grizz look like a pretty good team on paper, but I don’t know if even Phil Jackson could get those guys to play together. I think it’s gonna take Iverson or Randolph to step back and take on a leadership role on the team, and I don’t know if either one is going to do that. Memphis needs to let Mayo and Gay develop in to 1 and 2 options on the team, and adding 2 30 something ball hogs, seems counter productive. I think Memphis will win more games this year, but for such a good young nucleus what it just seems like Iverson and Randolph are just stunting their growth. I think Iverson can make them better but him and Randolph together just seem really toxic to a young teams chemistry

[jeff416Participant]

Conley, Mayo, and Gay are all pretty good 3pt shooters even though Mayo and Gay are more of scorers. But I dont think Iverson will come to Memphis thinking hes the #1 guy I think he knows that Rudy and OJ are the best players on the team and he signed to prove to everyone that he can still play and he can be a team player. Memphis has more overall talent than any of those teams if they play as a team they will make the playoffs.

[JoeWolf1]

I wasn’t doubting Iverson’s ability to make a team better, but Randolph I think is going to be detrimental, and him and Iverson together I think are just going to be bad news. I could see Memphis making a run if they trade Randolph mid season, Arthur, Gasol, and Thabeet are young and having an experienced player ahead of them to take the pressure off is a good idea, but when in Randolph’s career has he ever been a team player concerned with chemistry? He is selfish and a ball hog, I just see him and Iverson taking too many shots away from their young core and being bad for building a young team.

[Anton123Participant]

The team is flooded with players who want the ball – Iverson, Randolph, Mayo, Conley, Gay, Thabeet, Gasol, I don’t know how they will share the ball only Conley likes passing the ball…

[wuteverParticipant]

Look at there roster Z.randolph, Iverson, mayo, and gay players that need the ball in their hands, I just don’t see how they can mesh together with too many players that need to dominate the ball. They all shot a high volume of shots…and Zach Randolph….. the guy shoots right when he touches the ball all he sees is that basket. And Iverson and mayo are alike in a way where they are both undersized SG, I wonder whats going to happen with Conley now. If mayo or iverson may move to PG, or Iverson comes off the bench which i hope he does. Not a big fan of their off-season moves going for a who is down hill on his career in Iverson and player that is immature and seems to care bout his stats than wins in Randolph. I’m more worried about the addition of these players stunting the growth of their stars in Mayo and Gay. Don’t get me wrong the talent is nice I just can’t see them pushing for a playoff team in a tough western conference. I am hoping for the best for this team, because i really enjoy watching the young core play.

[jeff416Participant]

He has been a ball hog over his career but things can change if he shoots to much bench him and put Arthur in. Im not worried about Iverson messing up the team at all but I would be lying if I said I wasnt worried about Randolph but I think he will not be as much of a ball hog as he was he never played with a team with this many offensive weapons so I think he will just try to be a good post presence and not be to much of a ball hog.

[JoeWolf1]

Yeah he has the 03-04 Jail Blazers, Shareef, Randolph, Derek Anderson, Bonzi Wells, Damon Stoudamire,….that stackted team went 41-41 and then they had to break it up because of bad team chemistry, I’ll believe it when I see it when it comes to Randolph taking a back seat and accepting a bench role.

[BasketballGuru24Participant]

My thoughts on Memphis are either they will have great chemistry 8th seed or horrible chemistry NO PLAYOFFS…….How they mesh is what matters

[doubledribblerParticipant]

My problem with Memphis is that not only do the new guys not fit, but neither do a lot of the younger guys. The team doesn’t fit. It’s not always about talent in basketball. The best teams usually fit. At least a couple of guys are going to have to check their ego out of their 4 main guys and I don’t see that happening. I think Mayo is willing to do it and contribute in other ways, but I don’t see it happening with the other 3. If I am correct, isn’t this also Rudy Gay’s contract year? Also, since Iverson is only there for one year, he’s playing for a contract too. Somethings has to give.

[uneik1Participant]

AI is not coming to Memphis to take a back seat to anyone. He fully expects to start and be #1 or 2 option. He didn’t want to do it with an accomplished former allstar who won a ring (Richard Hamilton). Do you really think he would be willing to do it for a player entering their 3rd and 4th year in the league in Mayo and Gay? I love Iverson. Always defended him when they say he doesn’t pass. He is a willing passer (just takes too long to decide to pass) but he doesn’t want to admit that he lost a step and is best suited to be a 6th man. If he was open to being a 6th man he would have had plenty of options from definite playoff teams like Boston, Cleveland, San Antonio, Atlanta, etc. He chose Memphis because it was his best option to start and try and prove he still is the same player he was a few years ago. Randolph would prove to be a bigger problem. They don’t call him the black hole for nothing.

[uneik1Participant]

Great point on Gay. He is going to be a free agent at the end of the year. More incentive for him to put up #s for a fat contract.

[QHaynes20]

They are not gonna make it. I dont even have words to say but NO

[CLYDE-frazier10Participant]

make the playoffs i think they will surprise few teams, cuz this team is ganna score.AI has something to prove. i love ballers who have a chip on dere shoulder and dey prove themselves. and IF they r unselfish who r u ganna double. gasol is ganna have big numbers this year. but i wud like to know who u guys think is ganna run the team. whoz ganna lead the team in points. but more imortantly whoz team is it ganna be. is it ganna be AI’s team rudy gays mayo

[butidonthavemoney]

No

[thetruthParticipant]

its too many scorers on this team. ego problems are bound to happen. and we all know a.i is not gonna accept being a role player. never never never. plus memphis needs a coach who can handle all these players. hollins to me is while not up to standars to handle this type of job.

[JNixonParticipant]

It would take a dollar and a dream lol, but realistically I dont see them making it because none of their players compliment each other. I mean they are developing Gasol, Thabeet and Haddadi at center, which isnt the ideal route. They needed a PF more, but they wouldve reached if they wouldve taken the best PF available (Jordan Hill) at no.2, but maybe that wouldve been the better decision. But their team doesnt go together right, and I would be surprised if they all of a sudden figured out how to play as a team. No playoffs for the Grizz.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I don’t see this team having the team chemistry it takes to make a playoff run. Iverson has never been a player known to help team chemistry… Neither has Randolph. This team has too many scorers and not enough defenders! Iverson, Randolph, Mayo and Gay, but only one ball…

And poor Mike Conley lol. Iverson says he’ll accept a backup role behind Conley and Mayo, but we all know that he’s targeted Conley has the player who’s position he’ll take!

[RUDEBOY]

I LOVE THE MOVE OF SIGNING IVERSON..HE HAS TO START AT THE OFF GUARD AND MOVE OJ TO THE POINT..A.I. KNOWS THIS IS HIS LAST CHANCE TO PLAY FOR A BIG CONTRACT…HE’S A BETTER PLAYMAKER THAN PEOPLE GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR..IN PHILLY..HE DIDN’T HAVE ANOTHER QUALITY TEAMMATE..BUT HE WON THE MVP IN 2001 AND PUSHED THEM INTO THE FINALS…

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

You’re entitled to your own opinion about loving the Iverson signing, BUT… How long ago did Iverson play in Philadelphia??? He did win the MVP, but that’s was 8 years ago lol. He’s not the same player anymore… He’s no longer an elite player. Iverson can still play, but you’re one of those fans who needs to let go of the past.

[aarondsonixfanParticipant]

As I have been saying before, Iverson doesn’t help teams. He made the Pistons get a lot worse, he made the Nuggets worse, the only time he made a team play good was back in philly. I don’t think that the Grizzlies are going to get worse, cuz quite frankly they can’t get worse then they did last year. Iverson is going to want about 30 shots a game, Randolph is going to want 20, Gay is going to want around 20, and now Mayo turning into a star is going to want more shots as well. This team is not going to do well together. Plus A.I isn’t as good as he used to be. He’s kinda old now. Still has some game, but mostly is all hype.

[OrangeJuiceJonesParticipant]

Like most of you said earlier, Iverson isn’t the same player that he once was, and he knows that. He signed a one-year deal to prove that he can be a team player and not be detrimental to a contender. I don’t expect him to take alot of shots, but I can’t say the same about Z-Bo. The only question that I have is what does the Iverson contract mean for Mike Conley? I know it’s for only a year, but does this mean that Conley’s going to come off the bench this year?

IMO, I think it should be Iverson that comes off the bench for 20 minutes a game. It would show that he’s put the days of complaining about being the 6th man behind him, not to mention strengthen Memphis’ second unit. This would allow Conley to continue to develop as a starting point guard. He might take some minutes away from Mayo, but he could use a rest. He played almost 40 minutes a game last season. Needless to say, this team is going to be very interesting to watch and follow next year.

[sheltwon3Participant]

Mayo is not losing minutes and also unfortunately for Conley who is probably coming off the bench and AI will get at least 25 minutes a game but will probably wind up playing more like 35 a game with conley getting spot minutes from Mayo and AI. Conley will probaly get about 20 or so minutes. This does not affect the front court where Gay will share minutes with some rookie and probably get about 35 to 40 minutes himself. Randolph will get about 38 minutes and Marc Gasol will get around 30 so that is like 36 front court bench minutes that are left for their young players. Thabeet will probably not get many minutes this year. Carrol, Young, and Arthur will get a decent amount of bk up minutes. I see Grizz going 9 deep with marcus williams getting spot minutes. Randolph may do some time at the 5 spot.

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