Memphis Grizzlies disappointed with 1st round exit, look towards next year – NBA News
The Memphis Grizzlies are disappointed with the way their postseason finished, abruptly to say the least.
After having a franchise best 41-25 season that helped them gain the 4th seed in the Western Conference, the Grizzlies fell in the first round to the 5th seeded
Los Angeles Clippers in 7 games.
It was a fantastic series, with Memphis coming back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the series at 3-3 and take the final game to Memphis. However, they could not get the job done as the Clippers advanced.
“Sometimes pain dissipates with time. Hopefully, this will stick with them for a long time” said Memphis coach Lionel Hollins.
The Grizzlies had a great season, even though they lost Zach Randolph to an MCL injury for 37 games. They won 16 of their final 20 games to close the season, which included road wins against Miami Heat, Oklahoma
City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Grizzlies had the third best home record in the league after Miami and San Antonio Spurs, with a 26-7 record.
“The sky’s the limit for next year when everybody’s healthy and with more experience and more confidence for next year” said guard Tony Allen.
While there are a number of positives the Grizzlies can take away this season, there are some things the Grizzlies need to work on before the next season starts. They have had two successful regular seasons,
but they crashed out to OKC in the Western Conference Semi Finals last year, and this year they have fallen to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.
If the Grizzlies want to make a deeper run in the playoffs, they need to cover a few holes in their lineup.
The Grizzlies need to find a back up for guard Mike Conley. He has been putting up huge minutes, which is not a permanent solution. Also, Memphis needs an effective perimeter shooter to open up the floor and
create opportunities for their big men Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.
“You got to have somebody to open it up. They understand how much damage and how much problems me and Marc cause in the paint. We got to fix that” Randolph said.
The Grizzlies need to decide on the future of O.J. Mayo, Marreese Speights and Gilbert Arenas. Mayo has already expressed his desire to return to the Memphis squad, but will the franchise keep him is yet to be
seen.
This year’s run however, will help Memphis understand their limitations in playoff basketball and will assist them to grow and improve. They are still a formidable team and a few tweaks here and there can have
them in title contention position by next year. A long summer awaits the Memphis team and coach, with success ultimately depending on how they use the off season.
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