Posted 5/11 at 11:35 AM
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Pete Pranica is the Grizzlies television play-by-play announcer. He and Sean Tuohy make up the broadcast team that hosts Grizzlies Tonight! before each home game.
The Grizzlies opened up a three-day mini camp for NBA hopefuls this morning. Also, my thoughts on recent playoff events.
The Grizzlies opened up a three-day mini-camp for a host of NBA hopefuls—some former NBA players, some from the D-League and some who’ve played their professional ball in far-flung parts of the world.
The most familiar name is former Grizzly Michael Dickerson, who was forced into retirement, but is trying to make it back for—in his words, “the love of the game. If I don’t make it (to the NBA), I’ll go to Seattle and play with kids and dominate them.”
Also of note is former Memphis Tiger star Darius Washington, Jr., who had a brief stint with San Antonio before playing in Russia. After the first workout of the camp, Washington lauded his experience in San Antonio as being the most profound influence on his career. It’s no wonder that San Antonio has been one of the most consistently successful franchises in the NBA. They have a system and a culture and is practically in everyone’s bloodstream.
Brent Petway, who was one of the final Grizz cuts last season, has also been invited to camp. The two most experienced players are 8-year pro Jelani McCoy and 7-year veteran Eddie Gill. McCoy had been playing in China and Gill with the Colorado 14ers of the D-League. One of the most impressive players in the first session was Walker Russell, Jr. (son of former Piston Walker D. Russell). He led the D-League with 10.8 assists and his high-energy style immediately stood out.
Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace will continue to evaluate this pool of prospects and see who, if any, will be invited to participate in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Wallace admitted that there could be several spots up for grabs on that team. Expect Hamed Haddadi to be on the Grizz summer league entry along with whatever draft picks the Grizzlies gain in the upcoming draft.
The first session was shorter than expected, so I’m going back for the afternoon workout and hope to have some better-formed observations on players later. Update: Read my notes from the afternoon camp session and check out our video highlights.
- I’m a little surprised by the Denver Nuggets’ carving a niche in the Western Conference playoffs. This had been, until the acquisition of Chauncey Billups, an underachieving group. Regular season success was expected, but so were playoff flameouts. Now, the Nuggets stand on the precipice of putting the Mavericks out in four straight after dismissing New Orleans in five.
- Speaking of the Denver-Dallas series, the final play where Antoine Wright tried to foul, but got no whistle, will be the subject of unending controversy. One report I saw today indicated that the officials working the game felt, after reviewing the video, that there really was no foul on the play. A couple of observations: first, if you’re planning on taking a foul, you need to mention it to the nearest official. Secondly, Mark Wunderlich was checking Carmelo Anthony‘s feet (was the shot going to be a two or a three, which was kinda important) and was behind the play and to my way of thinking, was screened from Wright’s foul attempt(s). In any event, a tremendous shot by Carmelo Anthony.
- I like Mark Cuban, but telling Kenyon Martin‘s mother that her son “is a punk” is crossing a line. I know it was the heat of the moment and I’m not a huge Kenyon Martin fan, but that wasn’t necessary. And if you’re going to say it, do it in private.
- Glen Davis’ shot against Orlando will immediately be made into one of those “Where Amazing Happens” commercials. How’s that for drama? Boston may be short-handed, but they’re not going to let that title go without a fight.
- A word (or a dozen) on flagrant fouls. A Flagrant, Penalty One is contact that is considered “unnecessary.” An example might be making contact where there’s no legitimate basketball reason to do so. A Flagrant, Penalty Two is contact that is deemed to be both “unnecessary” and “excessive.” Usually in this case, there is some form of “wind-up” by the offending player, a strike of the fouled played and a follow through.
To my way of thinking, a Flagrant, Penalty Two should only be enforced when there’s a pretty obvious attempt to hurt another player. The key distinction as far as penalties is that a One gives the fouled team two free throws plus possession while a Two gets you the gate in addition to the free throws and possession. We’ve seen fouls upgraded from a regular personal foul to a Flagrant by the NBA office and a Flagrant Two downgraded by the league office. Look for next season’s referee camp to have special emphasis on flagrant fouls because I’m not convinced they’ve been interpreted consistently across the board. Currently, referees can only video review Flagrant, Penalty Two fouls to confirm or rescind. My suggestion is that ALL flagrants are subject to video review.
Posted 5/11 at 11:35 AM
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