Historical Moments:
2001/02: After 6 years of struggling in Vancouver the Grizzlies moved to Memphis. For Memphis
it was the first NBA team, but the city had played home to an ABA team from
1970-1975. The Grizzlies made their Memphis debut on November 1st at the Pyramid
losing to the Detroit Pistons 90-80. The Grizzlies would struggle mightily at
the start as they lost their first 8 games before beating the Cleveland Cavaliers
98-83 at the Pyramid on November 17th for their first Memphis win. The Grizzlies
would not win many more games finishing in last place with a 23-59 record.
However, their was still plenty to be excited about that first season
in Memphis as Pau Gasol led the team with 17.6 ppg enroot to being named rookie
of the year. Shane Battier another rookie also played impressive basketball posting
a solid 14.4 ppg, while former University of Memphis star Lorenzen Wright
led the team in rebounding with 9.0 boards per game. The highlight of the inaugural
season in Memphis came on December 21st when the Grizzlies beat the eventual
NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers at the Pyramid 114-108. Following the season
the Grizzlies would look to the Lakers for help to build their future as they
hired former Lakers great Jerry West who was the architect for the current Lakers
Championship teams as well as the Showtime teams of the 80's.
2002/03: In their second season in Memphis the Grizzlies would get off to another rocky start
as they lost their first 8 games before Coach Sidney Lowe resigned. Lowe would
be replaced by 69-year old Hubie Brown who had not coached in the NBA in 16
years. However, Hubie Brown had stayed close to the game as an announcer for Turner
Sports NB coverage. The Grizzlies would continue to struggle under Brown
losing their next 5 for an awful 0-13 start, before they finally beat the Washington
Wizards 85-74. After their first win the Grizzlies played solid basketball
for 6 weeks as they split their next 18 games. However, the Grizzlies would continue
to rack up the losses as they failed to win 30 games again posting a franchise
best 28-54 record while finishing in 6th place. Along the way the Grizzlies
made some moves to strengthen the team including trading disappointing rookie
Drew Gooden, with Gordan Giricek to the Orlando Magic for Mike Miller, Ryan
Humphrey, and draft picks at the trade deadline. However, when the season was
over it would be a trade from their past that would comeback and haunt them as
a trade they made with Detroit Pistons for Otis Thorpe resulted in the Grizzlies
losing a chance to pick second in the NBA Draft. The deal had stated that if
the Grizzlies did not get the top overall pick they would have to give it to the
Pistons, for Thorpe who played less then 2 unspectacular seasons in Vancouver.
2003/04: In their final season in the Pyramid the Grizzlies began to turn it around. Holding
a 9-8 record early in December the Grizzlies landed Bonzi Wells in a trade with
the Portland Trailblazers on December 3rd. Despite holding a 15-17 record as
the New Year started the Grizzlies were clearly heading in the right direction
and in January they began to make show signs they were a contender as they won
10 of 14 games in January. The Grizzlies stayed hot in February as they climbed
over the 30 win plateau for the first time in franchise history while posting
a 10-3 record. They would play even better in March winning 13 of 15 as they
clinched a playoff spot. However down the stretch they would struggle as they entered
the playoffs losing 6 of their last 8. Despite the late season slide the
Grizzlies still managed to post an impressive 50-32 record nearly doubling their
previous best win total, as 70-year old Hubie Brown was named Coach of the Year,
as 7 different players averaged more the 9 points per game. However in the
playoffs against the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs the Grizzlies would
be no match as they would be swept away in 4 straight games.
2004/05: Coming off the first playoff appearance in franchise history, the Grizzlies had a
new look and a new arena as they began play at the FedEx Forum. The new look Grizzlies
would struggle earl losing 5 of their first 12 when 71-year old Coach
Hubie Brown retired, saying he could no longer handle the day-to-day strain of
coaching in the NBA. After losing all 4 under interim Coach Lionel Hollins the
Grizzlies turned to Mike Fratello. After initially struggling under Fratello the
Grizzlies would climb back above .500 in January posting a 12-3 record during
the first month of the New Year. That January would be good enough to help the
Grizzlies into the playoffs for the second straight year as they beat out the
Minnesota Timberwolves for the final playoff spot with a 45-37 record. In the playoffs
the Grizzlies would face the Phoenix Suns who posted the best record in
the NBA, and would find themselves in an immediate hole losing the first 2 games
on the road. Coming home they would not fair any better as the Suns won both
in Memphis as the Grizzlies, failed to come up with their first postseason win
again, getting swept in 4 straight for the second year in a row. Following the
season the Grizzlies would undergo a roster makeover as James Posey and
Jason Williams were sent to the Miami Heat in a mega blockbuster deal that saw
the Grizzlies land Eddie Jones, while Bonzi Wells was shipped to the Sacramento
Kings in a deal that saw the Grizzlies land Bobby Jackson, in addition the Grizzlies
would lose Stromile Swift to the Houston Rockets via Free Agency.
2005/06: The revamped Grizzlies started the season strongly winning 13 of their first 18 games.
However, playing in the same division with the San Antonio Spurs and the
Dallas Mavericks, the Grizzlies could still not do better then third place. The
Grizzlies would play strong basketball all season as they posted a solid 49-33
record. Once again the Grizzlies were led by Pao Gasol who had another solid season
with 20.4 ppg and 6.5 rebounds per game. While off the bench Mike Miller
added an extra spark with 13.7 ppg with a team high 138 three pointers made as
he earned recognition as the league's best 6th Man. However in the playoffs against
the Dallas Mavericks the Grizzlies would once again find themselves overmatched
as they were swept in four straight games for the third straight season,
with only one game decided by less then 10 points. Following the season the Grizzlies
continued to retool trading Shane Battier to the Houston Rockets to reacquire
Stromile Swift, along with Rudy Gay the 8th overall draft pick.
2006/07: The new look Grizzlies would suffer a big loss before the season even started as
Pao Gasol suffered a broken foot while leading Spain to victory in the FIBA World
Championships in August. With Gasol missing the first 23 games the Grizzlies
would get off to a terrible start winning just 6 of their first 30 games as Coach
Mike Fratello was fired on December 28th and replaced on an interim basis by
Tony Barone Sr. who was the team's player personnel director and never coached
an NBA game. Under Barone the Grizzlies would not play much better as they would
end up with the worst record in the NBA at 22-60. Following the season General
Manager Jerry West announced his resignation, ending a disappointing tenure
in Memphis that saw the Grizzlies make just three playoff appearance that ended
with the Grizzlies being swept all three times. |
