The only thing holding the Memphis Grizzlies back is offense. Teams led by Marc Gasol and Mike Conley have always been among the league’s stingiest defensively, and that was no different in 2014-15 despite an uncharacteristic start to the season. After so much early hemming and hawing about the Grizzlies’ supposedly suboptimal play on that end of the floor, they still finished with a 99.9 defensive rating – a top-four number.
The problem for Memphis, naturally, was the other end of the floor. Despite career years marked by new aggression from both Gasol and Conley, the Grizzlies still managed just the league’s 13th-best offense last season. While that’s a small improvement based on each of the previous three years, it also wasn’t good enough for anything more than hopeful title contention – and won’t be in 2015-16, either.
What could propel Dave Joerger’s offense to championship caliber? More space for Randolph to operate from his home on the right block and Conley and Gasol to exploit defenses with beautiful pick-and-roll playmaking. But Memphis needs shooters to create that room, and it’s unlikely this roster is equipped with enough of them – especially considering the extreme give and take that Tony Allen provides on either side of the ball.
What would go a long way toward mitigating that weakness? If Gasol took a step or two back and got his feet beyond the three-point line to launch his vaunted set shot. And as the beautiful shooting exhibition above makes clear, Big Spain is certainly comfortable shooting from that range. Is this the year he finally shows it off during game action?
For sake of the Grizzlies’ title chances, we certainly hope so.