Grizzlies-Bucks Pre-Game Three-Pointer
After a dreadful return home Wednesday night against the New York Knicks, the Grizzlies look to rebound tonight against another middle-of-the-pack Eastern Conference team, the 4-5 Milwaukee Bucks.
I’ll be reporting live from the Forum. To set the table, three observations on tonight’s game:
1. Mirror Images: The Grizzlies and Bucks are remarkably similar teams: Both teams are built on the foundation of a sweet-shooting two-guard (O.J. Mayo/Michael Redd), an athletic small forward (Rudy Gay/Richard Jefferson), and a tough, skilled, but not terribly athletic center (Marc Gasol/Andrew Bogut). Both teams are juggling an unsettled point guard competition (Mike Conley-Kyle Lowry/Luke Ridnour-Ramon Sessions) and have a rotation of power forwards who don’t have much power (Darrell Arthur-Hakim Warrick/Charlie Villanueva-Luc Mbah a Moute). Both teams were abysmal defensively last season, made an organization-wide commitment to improve on that end signaled by coaching hires (for the Griz, assistant Kevin O’Neil; for the Bucks head coach Scott Skiles), and have opened the season much better on that end of the floor (the Grizzlies are currently 11th in defensive efficiency, the Bucks 14th). And both teams seem to be suffering offensively due to this focus (the Griz 28th, the Bucks 26th). The good news, from the Grizzlies perspective, is that they’re the younger, cheaper version, with much more upside (especially on the wings).
