October of Hope!

[Sharkn20]

There is another mild October in Tennessee, the leaves are almost down, and all the trees are brown coloured or on the way to be completely bald. Temperatures during the day are around 20 degrees Celsius and it rained some days, nothing out of order really... Just a normal October.

Another normal thing happening in October? The CSL gets underway, this time a huge playoff underdogs, the Memphis Grizzlies are roaring in town, a crown excited of what they've seen so far in the team, go in mass to the FedExForum, where around 18.000 citizens fit, they scream and they enjoy the local figures, while a defense "N" shoot team philosophy is playing above average basketball right now. The Memphis Grizzlies are 8-5 and currently #5 seed in the West, most GMs feel the West is extremely weak this year, but the Grizzlies don't care, the only thing that matters is that number on the left side of the record.

The Good
The Grizzlies boast the #3 best RPG in the league right now, with Biyombo (11.0) and Green (9.2) leading the way, Memphis is leaving not many extra possessions available for opposite teams. And if there were any questions about this dominance in the paint, they also are the #6 (t) best team in the CSL blocking shots, with again Biyombo (1.9) and Green (1.3), opposite "drivers" need to be really careful when attempting to attack Memphis 2nd line of defense.

In attack SF Khris Middleton (22.2 ppg) and SG Zach LaVine (21.5 ppg) are the 2 main scores for the Grizzlies so far this season, however we are expecting more contribution from LaVine, who hasn't heat up yet, being very far from his normal % in jumpers and 3 point shots.

The Bad
But is not all good things in Memphis, the Grizzlies are achieving to diminish the number of TOs per game and now they are just middle of the road with 13.2 TOPG, it's expected this number to improve once Ullis is on the field (just few more games). It's also concerning that Memphis is unable to gain extra possessions by turning other teams over as they are the 3rd worst team in SPG in the CSL right now, this definitely will need to be addressed at some point.

PG Shane Larkin and SF Bogdan Bogdanovic are struggling out of the gate so far with horrid shot %, and most wins would've more comfortable or the loses turned into wins if they both start to at least go back to their normal selves, they will still have opportunities to do so, but patience is running thin.

The Ugly
Despite not being flashy, the bench is contributing big time to this team, and that's exactly what we expected, to create a solid 9 or 10 rotation that can add to the team when given the chance.

SG Troy Daniels 55.6% from Downtown
C Cody Zeller 7.2 ppg / 2.9 rpg
C Tim Kempton 6.5 ppg / 5.5 rpg
PG Vasilije Micic 5.8 ppg / 2.8 apg
SF Bojan Bogdanovic 4.8 ppg

They are all doing a fantastic job coming from the bench.

[Ramcus]

The grizzlies have been great so far, considering they weren't supposed to be good. I half expect people to be able to adapt mid way through the season, but it's bright over there in Memphis

[Jestor]

Easily the most stunning successful team so far. You're making it work, which is great.

[Flaming Homer]

I would put Charlotte at least on the same level but indeed a great job done in Memphis.
Keep it up!!

[Jestor]

I think most people expected Charlotte to be late seed playoff fighting, so it’s not as huge a surprise as Memphis

[Dennis]

I still think Charlotte will end up around 9/10/11 in the east. Memphis could be the surprise here. If they keep it going like they do, they could be a top6 team in a not so deep west

[Flaming Homer]

A #6 finish would be indeed a big accomplishment.
Totally forgot about the Spurs here too, very nice season so far.

[hardenwithnod]

This team has been playing out of their minds lately, and has far exceeded a lot of people's expectations thus far. Stick with your plan, and playoffs is definitely a possibility.