Beale Street Bears’ Memphis Grizzlies roundtable: ‘Into the Bears’ Den’

@JamesKFoster2: Minus getting healthy, what is Coach Fizdale’s biggest challenge as he takes over the reigns as head coach?

Parker Fleming (@PAKA_FLOCKA):

Finding ways to maximize Zach Randolph and Tony Allen’s production and hide their deficiencies. They are both great at their specialities. ZBo has been one of the best rebounders and post scorers in the past decade, but cannot guard athletic stretch 4s. Tony Allen can lock down anyone from Chris Paul to Klay Thompson to Kevin Durant but is horrendous from beyond the arc. Their go-to lineup in crunch-time will more than likely be Conley, Allen, Parsons, Randolph and Gasol. If Allen and Randolph’s weaknesses outweigh their strengths, the Grizzlies become a much less dangerous team.

Ian Pierno (@IanPierno): 

Dropping buckets, man. This was the third-worst 2-point shooting and second-worst 3-point shooting team last season. Yeah, Chandler Parsons’ efficiency will really help, but he’s not going to play 48 minutes per game and he probably won’t play 82 games either. Troy Daniels is apparently the best 3-point shooter in the league, but I doubt he earns consistent minutes. Perhaps upping the team’s pace would help, but could guys like Tony Allen, Zach Randolph and an aging Marc Gasol keep up? And more shots doesn’t mean a whole lot if you’re less efficient.

With the Grizzlies’ lack of bench depth, he’ll have to figure out what combination of starters and bench players mesh the best, because I don’t think he’ll ever be able to throw in a platoon bench sub. This could cost Memphis some early season wins if he doesn’t find out quickly.

Mike Parrott (@mikeparrott_): 

Working out who is the No. 1 option. Fizdale has always been on teams with easy decisions in terms of options (big three Heat and Joe Johnson with the Hawks), however this team right now has three people who can be the focal point. Chandler Parsons, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol are all entirely different options and Fizdale needs to pick the right one to make this team a contender. He will have to integrate the chosen player into being a focal point, which will be hard because none of these players have ever been the focal point before. 

Taylor Buckley (@sctaylor94):

In my opinion, Fizdale’s biggest challenge this year will be managing his rotations. Like Parker said, he has to hide players’ deficiencies, but he also has manage the minutes that go along with his rotations. Managing the rotations and minutes will be critical for the Grizzlies to stay healthy and that’s the key to their success this year. Fizdale should have no problem keeping his rotations in check. This should bode well for the Grizzlies. 

Jacob Collins (@jacobcollins34):

Gracefully transitioning Grit ‘N Grind to the next generation. The front office made the correct call to continue rolling with this group for another season. They have accomplished quite a bit and have grown the Memphis fanbase with them. With that said, this offseason brought in changes for the future. Coach Fizdale will have to work on developing the young guys for the future while keeping Allen and ZBo active in the rotation.

Next: Leading scorer in 2016-2017?