NBA SIMS LEAGUE
Questions start being asked about the team design and whether trading all the future pick and cap flexibility for future years was worth it for B+ players, rather than holding out of a single A+ guy.
Another question is will being a defense first, second, and third type team, but will it ever be enough?
With two gold star defensive leaders on the squad in Steven Adams and Marcus Smart, and having Mitch Robinson and Jaren Jackson Jnr (NBA league leader in Blocks per game) helping man the paint, and a bunch of super speedy large wings floating about, how does a team score on the Grizz? The weakness might point to Mike Conley, who isn't a slouch in the defensive space, but does sit a small bump behind the rest of the squad. But Mike Conley brings so much to the table that its hard to take him out of the starting 5. Earlier in the season he was leading the NBA in 3pt % while holding the Floor General badge, what more could you want? While he has slid back to around the 40% from 3 mark, its still enough to earn him a slot among the starters.
With the addition of the additional defensive presence, the team actually suffered it worst week in defensive efficiency. Where they used to concede results in the high 80s, the most recent week saw them concede over 105 in DEff, but considering they faced Minny an Spurs we will take that stat with a grain of salt. It did see them conquer Minny, but fell short to the Spurs and point Lebron.
Perhaps point Lebron may be their undoing for now, but there are many weeks until playoffs to solve that issue.