Memphis Grizzlies keep it old school: It's a big man's game
By David Arteaga
Great teams in NBA history have had great big men: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, Patrick Ewing, and Tim Duncan, to name a few.
However, the NBA has experienced a recent push for “small ball.” Teams sacrifice the height, strength, and low-post shooting of tall players for the speed, quickness, and mid-range to three-point shooting of shorter players.
The 2015 NBA champion Golden State Warriors testify to the potential success of playing with a smaller lineup. In Game 6 of the 2015 NBA finals, the Warriors’ starting five tallied an average height of 6’ 6’’ [Andre Iguoldala 6’ 6’’, Harrison Barnes 6’ 8’’, Draymond Green 6’ 7’’, Klay Thompson 6’ 7’’, and Steph Curry 6’ 3’’] while the Cavaliers’ starting five boasted an average height of 6’ 8’’ [Lebron James 6’ 8’’, Tristan Thompson 6’ 9’’, Timofey Mozgov 7’ 1’’, Iman Shupert 6’ 5’’, and Matthew Dellavedova 6’ 4’’]. At center, Draymond Green was diminutive to Timofey Mozgov. However, the Warriors' small lineup increased the speed of play, spread the floor, and exhausted the Cavaliers’ defense.
In more recent news, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell (6’ 5’’) in lieu of Duke center Jahil Okafor (6’ 11’’) with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. The Lakers have been home to several all-time great big men: Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Shaq, and Paul Gasol. To select a point guard over a young and talented center exemplifies the push for a smaller style of play in the NBA.
Despite the recent push for smaller play, this offseason the Memphis Grizzlies have held true to the NBA’s historic adage: It’s a Big Man’s Game.
During NBA free agency, the Grizzlies re-signed Marc Gasol to a five-year max-dollar contract. One of the best centers in the league, Gasol was a highly touted free agent, but he returned to the Grizzlies on a verbal agreement with Mike Conley: If Gasol resigns, Conley will resign in 2016 when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
In addition to Big Spain, the Grizzlies added two more big men to the line-up. Brandon Wright (PF, 6’ 10’’) was signed to a three-year contract, and LSU power forward Jarrell Martin (6’ 10’’) was selected with the Grizzlies’ first round draft pick.
After playing for the Warriors (2007-2011), Nets (2011), Mavericks (2011-2014), Celtics (2014-2015), and Suns (2015), Brandon Wright is coming home to the Grizzlies. Wright is a Tennessee native. He played basketball at Brentwood Academy, leading their team to four straight state championships – a first in Tennessee history. Although Wright has not lived up to the hype of his eighth overall selection in the 2007 NBA draft, he may be re-invigorated in Tennessee.
Jarrell Martin played two seasons at LSU. During his freshman year, he averaged 10.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. During his sophomore year, Martin emerged as one of the best players in college basketball, averaging 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
Wright and Martin will assuredly not take Zach Randolph’s and Marc Gasol’s starting position at power forward and center. However, both are likely to contribute to bench play. In fact, Wright and Martin could provide the Grizzlies’ bench not only good height and strength but also stronger offensive production.
During the Western Conference Semifinals versus Golden State, the Grizzlies struggled to produce points, especially when the Grizzlies’ bench faced off against the Warriors’ bench. Wright and Martin may address this issue. Wright is one of two players in NBA history to convert over 1,000 field goals and maintain a career shooting percentage of at least 60 percent (DeAndre Jordan being the other), and Martin ranked fourth in the SEC for field goal percentage (51%) during the 2014-2015 NCAA season.
The Grizzlies tip off the 2015-2016 season on October 28 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. We’ll see if the re-signing of Gasol and additions of Wright and Martin can push the team from perennial playoff contenders to championship contenders.
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