The Memphis Grizzlies Roar Into Action Every NBA Game

Though the Memphis Grizzlies are cubs in the NBA, they have begun basketball growl. Though they have only been in the NBA since 2001, the Grizzlies have already advanced to the playoffs during three seasons. The Grizzlies moved to Memphis before the 2001-2002 season, after playing in Vancouver for six years. Interestingly, the Grizzlies were not the first professional basketball team that Memphis has hosted. The Memphis Pros/Tams/Sounds was an ABA team that played in the city from 1970-1975.

Where did the name "Grizzlies" originate? In fact, the first name the franchise chose was the "Mounties." However, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police objected to the name, as Mounties was a nickname for their police force. Thus, the franchise selected the alternate team, the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies lost their first NBA game to the Detroit Pistons, 90-80.

Eventually, they would finish their season with a disappointing 23-59 record.

Two seasons later, the Grizzlies made some bold trades, and ended the season with an outstanding 50-32 record. Their number of wins was nearly double their previous highest total as a franchise. The Grizzlies coach, Hubie Brown, became the NBA Coach of the Year. However, the Grizzlies received a tough draw for the playoffs. The defending NBA Champs, the San Antonio Spurs, swept the Grizzlies in the latter's first playoff series.

In the following year, the Grizzlies started playing at the new FedEx Forum, hoping to build upon their previous season's success. The Grizzlies earned a 45-37 record, and captured the final playoff position in their conference. Unfortunately, they would face another powerhouse squad. This time, it was the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns. Additionally, once again the opposing team swept the Grizzlies in the playoffs.

In the 2005-2006 season, the Grizzlies earned third place in their division (49-33), behind those two teams. In the playoffs, the Grizzlies again drew a tough competitor and one that they were quite familiar with: the Dallas Mavericks. For the third consecutive year, the opposite team swept the Grizzlies.

Though the Grizzlies are a young team, some individuals in their franchise have received prestigious awards:

Hubie Brown: Coach of the Year: (204)

Brown won the NBA's Coach of the Year award with the Atlanta Hawks (1977-1978), before winning it with the Grizzlies. In addition, in 1975 Brown coached the ABA's basketball Colonels to a championship.

Pau Gasol: Rookie of the Year (2002)

A native of Spain, Gasol first played in Spain's ACB League, before playing for the Memphis Grizzlies. In 2006, Gasol played in the NBA All-Star game, as the game's first Grizzlies player and first Spaniard. Gasol is also a member of the Spanish national basketball team.

Mike Miller: 6th Man (2006)

Before playing in the NBA, Miller participated in the NCAA basketball championship, in 2000. Miller holds the Memphis Grizzlies' team record, for scoring the most points in a single game. He scored 45 points against the Golden State Warriors, on February 21, 2007.

The Memphis Grizzlies are new, but have promise. Use Memphis Grizzlies merchandise to cheer on the big bears!

Rick Grantham is an avid sports fan. Most of Rick's articles focus on memphis grizzlies merchandise. Many articles are related to nba memorabilia and other sports related topics. Rick is a contributing author to BooYah Village.

How Hustling & Being in Shape Contributes to Scoring More Points

Way too many basketball players underestimate the power of hustling and being basketball top physical condition. It seems like a no-brainer but that's not the case at all. It's usually the more talented and skilled players that overlook this important aspect of the game too. What happens is these players get use to dominating their peers at a young age and because they didn't condition a lot then they have this idea in the back of their mind that it's over-rated. They eventually get to a level (usually High School or College) where they are matched up basketball equally skilled players and they get their lunch eaten because they have never had a true belief in getting their bodies in top physical condition. Don't ever let this happen to you. The fact of the matter is, whatever level of play you are at, you need to understand the importance of hustling and conditioning. It has a gigantic impact on your level of play and it especially has a lot to do with your ability to score points. I don't care how well you can shoot, how well you can dribble or how fast you are - if you are out-hustled you are going to end up looking like a very average player.

Why You Will Score More Points

Way too many basketball players underestimate the power of hustling and being in top physical condition. It seems like a no-brainer but that's not the case at all. It's usually the more talented and skilled players that overlook this important aspect of the game too. What happens is these players get use to dominating their peers at a young age and because they didn't condition a lot then they have this idea in the back of their mind that it's over-rated. They eventually get to a level (usually High School or College) where they are matched up with equally skilled players and they get their lunch eaten because they have never had a true belief in getting their bodies in top physical condition. Don't ever let this happen to you. The fact of the matter is, whatever level of play you are at, you need to understand the importance of hustling and conditioning. It has a gigantic impact on your level of play and it especially has a lot to do with your ability to score points. I don't care how well you can shoot, how well you can dribble or how fast you are - if you are out-hustled you are going to end up looking like a very average player.

Hustling also creates a lot of opportunities to get easy baskets. If you have the energy to put some intense pressure on the players you are defending then you are going to cause some turnovers, get some steals and have some easy fast break lay-ups. I know some players that are obsessed about scoring points so they try and preserve their energy while on defense so they can be explosive on offense. This is not only against everything the game of basketball is about, it's flat out stupid. You are more likely to increase your scoring average if you have more high percentage shots during games and lay-ups are as high percentage as they get. And we haven't even talked about loose balls. It's the scrappy hustle players that always get the loose balls and those almost always turn out to be transition scoring opportunities. You can easily add 6-10 more points to your scoring average by hustling because of the added scoring opportunities you'll be presented with.

Then there's the common sense factor. If you are in better condition you are going to perform better on the court. It's a given. Your legs won't get tired in the 4th quarter, you won't get winded and you'll be able to beat your defender off the dribble. It's a sad thing when I see really talented players not be able to score on their opponents simply because they are too tired to make their move. Don't be the player that thinks your talent and skill can carry you all the way to the top. If you ever start to think that it's only about how well you can shoot or dribble go research how much the Harlem Globetrotters get paid vs. players in the NBA and then breakdown the difference in their game.

How Bad Do You Want It?

Hustling and conditioning go hand in hand because you can't hustle for very long if you aren't in really good condition. It doesn't take special skill or natural born talent to hustle. It takes sheer will and determination. It takes the type of self-discipline that guys like US Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps has. He isn't known for having some secret talent that not very many other swimmers have. He is known as a man who works his guts out and wants to be a winner more than one could possibly imagine. Do yourself a favor and take a lesson from his book. There is nothing but good things that will come from you getting yourself in top physical condition and deciding that you are going to be known as the player that is constantly hustling. Players will hate defending you and you'll be presented with a lot more scoring opportunities than you ever have.

Visit HoopSkills.com for more basketball coaching articles like this one.

Girls Basketball Drills

How to Incorporate Drills into Practice

Girls basketball drills can be practiced by the girls alone and on their own time. They can also be used in practice to help girls learn the basics of basketball and improve their technique. Coaches should consider using girls basketball drills in every practice to build confidence, instill a routine, and practice basic concepts.

Girls basketball drills are the best way for a coach to work on improving her team's ability. Drills should make up the majority of practice, but there should be several drills so that players do not get bored.

To incorporate drills into practice, coaches should consider their current flow of practice. Do drills fit in after a warm-up and stretching? Do they fit in after a review of the previous game and a discussion about improvement? Wherever a coach believes drills fit in should be the main concern.

How Often to Practice Drills

Girls should be encouraged to practice drills as often as possible. The majority of drills for girls basketball can be done alone or with a group. For this reason, girls should strive to take these drills home and practice them as well.

In practice, coaches should consider how much time they can devote to drills. It does no good to teach a drill and then run through it only once. Athletes need time to learn and practice, so they need time to repeat a drill several times. A good rule of thumb is that athletes should do a drill five times. If there are multiple positions to the drill, they should do each position five times.

This may make a drill too long, so coaches need to adjust. The main point is that athletes need some type of repetition so they can consolidate their learning and not only focus on remembering which step basketball next. By creating muscle memory, coaches allow athletes to focus on other areas of the drill.

Choosing Appropriate Drills

Many coaches struggle with decisions on which drills to choose for their athletes. If athletes are young or not fully mature, choose drills that are simple enough to learn quickly. Young athletes get bored and frustrated easily, and coaches need their athletes to be paying attention fully.

These drills should be easy to learn and work on a specific skill. Drills should be focused and short, so that athletes know what skill they are to improve and how to do it.

Older athletes may be able to handle drills that are faster-paced and involve more strategy. These drills become almost like a scrimmage, with players making quick decisions in order to reach a common goal. These drills can be longer and more complicated to keep athletes interested and challenged.

Final Thoughts

Girls basketball drills are an essential part of practice. Coaches should also encourage girls to take drills basketball of practice and use them as much as possible. Athletes should use drills in practice to learn new skills, build discipline, and create a routine. Drills for girls should be chosen based on the difficulty of the drill, its specific skill focus, and its ease of mastery.

Coach Anderson's passion is basketball. You can get his printable drills, plays and practice plans in addition to lots of other basketball drills for girls on his website:

http://www.ebasketballcoach.com

2003 NBA Draft - Top 4 Looking Stellar!

The 2003 NBA Draft is being compared to the 1985 NBA Draft, I believe that in time, the 2003 NBA Draft will be the most lucrative draft the NBA League has seen in some time. The Big 3 in the NBA over the last 20 years or so were Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Charles Barkley. However they did not come out of the same draft. The exception was Magic Johnson, who was drafted in 1980 by the Los Angeles Lakers, boy it doesn't seem like 28 years ago does it?

The 2003 NBA Draft has already netted (no pun intended) an NBA Champion in Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat. citizen watch "King" James who has already made it to the finals, and next up I believe could be Chris Bosh. I believed that Carmelo Anthony had a better chance prior and probably still does, but the loss of Allen Iverson should be a major impact on the team, even though the team chemistry just was not there with Allen Iverson.

Not many teams can function with that many ball hogs in the starting lineup, and their defense was suffering because of it, I guess that is the knock on Allen Iverson of late, and probably the same reason he will never achieve Michael Jordan status. Michael Jordan in his greatness, became the best teammate anyone could have, basically because he developed his teammates status around him and refined his already near perfect basketball skills, in the clutch it was him, but the sharing throughout the game was generous in nature, that made him elite.

Lebron James and Dwyane Wade have those Michael Jordan like qualities and skills to some degree, and do command the type of attention that was Jordan-esque, and has not been seen or merited in quite some time. Carmelo Anthony has flashes of greatness, but seems to struggle in the team concept part. We will see this year if the thorn in his side, was indeed Allen Iverson. Carmelo Anthony needs to step up and become the leader this team needs him to be.

Lebron James can and will make players around him better, but the cast needs to improve. I like the acquisition of Delonte West, a relentless ball pusher and runs the court very well. I need him to excel, I am sitting on a ton of his rookie cards, primarily Topps Chrome. Get it done Delonte West! The rest of the cast for Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are not very persuasive to me to make a realistic quest to the NBA championship.

The Boston Celtics will continue to dominate the league this year, barring any unfortunate injuries, If Lebron James and Company are going to task themselves with defeating the Boston Celtics, the cast needs to improve. A mid-season acquisition or two should do the trick. They also need another bench player, someone to give them some quality minutes off the bench.

Chris Bosh is going to need more help than Lebron James, but believe it or not, disagree you may, I believe the Toronto Raptors have a better bench than the Cleveland citizen watch Time will tell....

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