Total Nonsense

"You always like a point guard with size. The more size you have the versatility you have," Hollins said, emphatically adding that the Griz need Jaric to perform because playing rookie guard O. J. Mayo at point guard is not an option.
"O. J. is an off guard. He can push the ball in transition, but he is not a point guard," Hollins said. "I don't want to start that by any stretch. We have two point guards on the team, Mike Conley and Marko Jaric."

Why didn't Hollins just say "Even though we have the worst point guard combo in the NBA, we will not try something that might help us win. I know we just lost to the Thunder without Kevin Durant, and we have lost 7 in a row, but I am turning Mike Conley into Mike Bibby. Even if we are 5-22 when Mike plays more than 30 minutes in a game, and even though his stats are better lately but we are worse, Conley is our point guard and we will not try something else. We are going to keep Conley as the guy that dominates the ball, and we are going to continue to be horrid, end of story."

I really wanted to puke when I read the passage at the top of this post that was in the Commercial Appeal this morning. If you listen to the Chris Wallace segment on the show then you know that the coach and the GM clearly have different views of Mayo. That is the first problem with these quotes.

The second problem is that now that as this season goes in the tank, it has become evident that Hollins is bound and determined to make Mike Conley something he is not (a legitimate starting point guard that runs an offense).

I have been preaching the same thing since the season began. Now I have done it with two different coaches. MAKE OJ MAYO THE GUY. I don't care if you want to make him the point guard (even though he should be), but the offense should run through him.

Why is the concept of getting the ball in the hands of your best player so hard for this team to understand? Mayo is what you have got. Conley opens up nothing because no defense respects him. Every time he shoots the closest defender is like 40 yds away.

The Grizzlies now have somehow had two coaches in a row that just don't get it. What a waste.