i saw the grizzlies a few weeks ago-- just completely outclassed the minnesota timber-white persons. man that is a boss team. exactly the kind of tough hardworking team we could have gotten behind.
but no, effing stu jackson thought he was in utah and filled the team with "safe" players. big country is low-hanging fruit, but the shareef pick, ugh.
but man wouldn't we have loved a real personality like z-bo (exactly the kind of player stu jackson would have gone out of his way not to have on the grizzlies). plus marc gasol (caused rubio to completely melt down in the fourth quarter), ridiculously versatile PG mike conley (who almost held his own against big baby paul in last year's playoffs), tayshaun, trick or treat tony allen... a team with an identity, super-athletic, great defense, no obvious superstars but a team you can love. reminds me of the chauncey/wallace bros. pistons.
beyond sucking, i thought the grizzlies' problem when they were here was always that no one gave two spits about anyone on that team. and that was exactly what stu jackson thought would sell the game to our fanbase, as if we were all a bunch of rednecks who wouldn't stand for "urban" players.