Grizzlies’ practice report, minor disagreements

May 21, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen (9) drives to the basket as San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (20) defends in game two of the Western Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at AT

Matt Moore of CBS Sports has released a detailed report on the inner workings of the Grizzlies’ post-game two practice. And apparently, there were some minor disagreements as to what changes the Grizz should make moving forward.

Number one: Marc Gasol not looking for his own shot.

When Lionel Hollins was asked if Gasol was looking for his shot enough in the first two games, he replied, ” No, he didn’t, and we talked about that. We talked about picking up the pace, and things to help us get better.

I’ve been critical of this myself, and it’s hard not to be as his selflessness appears to be hurting to the team more than it’s helping it.

“I’m not the kind of player to look for his own shot,” Gasol said. “Look for his shot? I don’t understand what that means. Be more aggressive, keep attacking the paint and go to the post more? Sure. But just taking shots? That doesn’t sound right.”

Here’s the kicker though, the stats actually back him up. Gasol’s attempts mirror one another in wins and losses. So in other words, if you’re looking to play the blame card, look elsewhere, Gasol is just doing what he always does.

A major component of righting the ship will be allowing Gasol to do what he does best; which is putting his teammates in a position to succeed. However, it will rest on the shoulders of that supporting cast to actually make the most of those opportunities.

Number two: Tony Allen spoke critically of his defensive assignments, preparation

Allen didn’t take kindly to what he felt was a lack of preparation in the film room, at least when it came to guarding Tony Parker, entering game two, stating, “”Instead of me watching film on Ginobili and Green, I should have started watching it on Parker earlier.”

Not only did Allen feel ill-prepard, but he feels he’s not getting the opportunity he deserves to guard the San Antonio star and feared to do so at the chance of being subbed out. “As a wing player, every time I turn around, it’s forcing me to help, it’s forcing other guys to help, it’s forcing the bigs to help, said Allen. “That’s a big reason they’re up.”

It’s hard to disagree with him. Seeing it would seem only natural that Allen would have an inclination to guard the guy who’s single-handedly torching the team’s defense – being arguably the best perimeter defender in the league and all.

Fortunately, the Grizzlies have made it clear that they intend to do everything in the power to slow down Parker, and regardless of how it happens, it must.

In the words of Allen, “We need to bring it early on at Game 3. We need to bring that desperation at tipoff.” With the Grizz returning home for game three, there’s a solid chance we will.

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