Empty the Bench

The NBA regular season is a grueling one, and Empty the Bench has a certain amount of empathy for the bottom-feeding teams in the league that will get nothing more than a few extra ping-pong balls in the draft lottery for their efforts. So we thought it’d be humanitarian of us to profile one of the five worst teams in the Association, winning-percentage wise, every day this week and give you five reasons they’re still worth watching on your League Pass.

First up is the Tony Barone-led Memphis Grizzlies, who limp into this week on a four-game losing streak and an overall record of 15-46. No, that’s not a typo: they’re batting .246 on the season, the lowest in the league, and are a staggering 36 games behind Southwest Division-leading Dallas Mavericks. General Manager Jerry West probably didn’t have this kind of season in mind when he took over a few years back. He never would have guessed that Chucky Atkins would end up as his starting point guard, either.

Sounds like the Grizz are playing some anemic, unwatchable basketball, right? Well, yes, pretty much, but here’s a few thoughts on why it’s not a total washout on Beale Street for the team and its fans:

1. Only the Golden State Warriors’ opponents score more points per game.
The Grizzlies give up an average of 106.1 points every time they step onto the court, which means that whoever they’re playing is going to put up mad crazy stats and fill up the box score nicely. If it was possible to assemble a fantasy roster strictly around Memphis’ schedule, there’s no doubt you’d run away with your league’s title. This week the Grizz have Toronto, Atlanta, and Charlotte on the docket—all away games. As such, expect Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, etc to go bonkers. Individual player performances are a thing of beauty against the sad, sad Grizzlies.

2. On the flipside, Memphis is a respectable 8th overall in scoring average.
That’s a bit hard to believe, especially considering that their second-leading scorer, Mike Miller, is one of the weakest Rookies of the Year in recent memory and is only putting up 18.7 a game. But that softie Spaniard known as Pau Gasol is back after missing time with injuries, and though we’re not huge fans of his game there’s no denying the man’s physical gifts and 20.8 points-per-game average. The moral of the story here is that when teams know they can score at will on you, they might be less prone to playing defense themselves, which means the Grizz are somewhat of a surprising scoring machine.

3. High-flying Rudy Gay has game. Lots of it.
Coming into the season, Gay was considered in some circles as the most NBA-ready rookie to come out of this year’s draft. The 8th overall pick by the Houston Rockets (traded to Memphis), Gay goes from a normal-sized small forward to an imposing figure at shooting guard at 6 feet 9 inches, something coach Barone has wisely realized and tried to take advantage of. Since being inserted into the starting lineup, Gay has finally begun to realize his talent; on February 14 against the Pacers, Rudy put up 31 points on 68% shooting (!) with 6 boards, 2 blocks, and 3 three-pointers. He’s been a nice addition to my fantasy team since scooping him up off waivers.

4. Hakim Warrick can be more entertaining than reruns of Knight Rider.
Okay, maybe not that entertaining; Hasselhoff’s breakout performance as the “loner on a crusade” Michael Knight seems to get worse better over time, and maybe it’s unfair to hold the 2005 first-round pick up to that lofty standard. Still, when given minutes on the court, Warrick has proven that he can be a productive guy who shoots a high percentage, rebounds, hustles, and dunks with the best of them. We’re not pleased that he’s averaging less than 25 minutes a game this season—there’s absolutely no reason he shouldn’t be playing over 30. What do they have to lose?

5. The occasional Scott Padgett sighting.
Yes, the former 1999 first-round pick by the Utah Jazz is still in the league, still collecting a handsome paycheck, and probably still reminiscing about that career year of his in 2001-02 when he averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds a game. Man, those were the good old days. Since arriving in Memphis via Houston, Padgett has scored… zero points on 0-3 shooting. He’s bound to drop a few buckets one of these days though, promise. And when he does, you want to be there to see it because lord have mercy, it’s gonna bring down the house.

Tuesday: the Boston Celtics
Wednesday: the Milwaukee Bucks
Thursday: the Atlanta Hawks
Friday: the Charlotte Bobcats