Chapter 2 The core of the first wave of team building

In 1993, the Lakers have been declining, the former "SHOW TIME" is getting old, Scott was invited by Larry Bird to join the Pacers, to teach Reggie Miller experience, the next year when the 33-year-old Scott was no longer in the future territory of the Pacers, so he selected the Grizzlies, and the skinny camel is bigger than the horse, Scott is still the most powerful player in the Grizzlies team.

In addition to Scott, the Grizzlies' team includes the Cavaliers' shooting guard 30-year-old Gerard Wilkins and the Jazz's swingman 32-year-old Blue Edwards.

Gerard Wilkins is the younger brother of Dominic Wilkins, nicknamed "The Essence of Human Cinema", and his physical fitness is naturally very explosive, he spent the first seven years of his career with the Knicks, and when he left, he was the second best player in the Knicks' all-time scoring list after Ewing, while Edwards was the starting point of the Jazz Bucks, and last season in the Jazz, because Jeff Hornacek transferred from the 76ers to the Jazz, taking away Edwards' starting position, which was taken away by the Grizzlies.

The expansion draft ended just three days later, and then the 1995 draft quickly kicked off, and the style of play at that time was still respected, and the Grizzlies selected a white center in the sixth draft, Bryant Reaves, Reaves was also the Grizzlies' first real star-level player.

Reeves is from a remote village in Arkansas, which earned him the nickname "Big Country" or "Big Hillbilly", although Reeves is beautiful, but his height of up to 213 cm and weight of 125 kilograms allow Reeves to block and kill people in the inside, Buddha block*, and Reeves' basket skills are very outstanding, can play back, can pass, but like Yao Ming, trapped by huge height and weight, not fast movement, average body running and jumping ability, rebounding can only be regarded as a medium level.

A team composed of such players, it is obvious that the strength is very limited, but the Grizzlies' debut slapped the audience hard, the first game in history, the Grizzlies defeated the Trail Blazers 92-80, and the second game was a 100-98 narrow victory over the Timberwolves, they have no stars, these veterans are all relying on their years of professional experience in playing, playing a good team basketball, but then, the Grizzlies began to pay tuition.

From the loss to the Mavericks on November 7, 1995 to the loss to the Rockets on December 13, 1995, the Grizzlies did not win a game for a whole month, losing 19 games in a row, and in only three of these 19 games, the Grizzlies scored more than 100 points, Reaves slowly accumulated game experience from the beginning of the bench to the later starters, and finally in the following game, he played an excellent performance of 25 points and 17 rebounds to help the Grizzlies defeat the Trail Blazers and end a 19-game losing streak.

Grizzly Bear: God, help us, we haven't won in a month, we lose and lose, we all feel bad.

God: It's okay, it's just the first half of the race, and you'll be fine in the second half.

Grizzlies: Do you mean we're going to win in the second half?

God: No, you're used to it in the second half.

19 consecutive losses are not the worst performance of the Grizzlies this season, because they have suffered a record-breaking 23 consecutive defeats this season, from February 16, 1996, to April 2, 1996, as a new army in the league, it is nothing to lose, the tuition should still be paid, but in the end, fortunately, the Grizzlies were not beaten to the point of losing their spirit, and in the last two games of the season, the Grizzlies, who had no hope of making the playoffs, still nibbled on two wins, The Grizzlies finished the season with only 15 wins, ranking last in the league.

The Grizzlies' debut season was tepid, but although the record was mediocre, they also received an accolade, that is, Reaves was named to the rookie second team with 13.3 points and 7.4 rebounds, and a 1996 No. 3 pick, which the Grizzlies used in the draft to select Sharif Abdul Rahim.

Raheem is 206 cm tall, has comprehensive offensive means, shoots far beyond the three-point line, accurate mid-range shooting, and a small turn-over jumper with a single back, and is second only to the No. 2 show Marcus Camby in college, but Raheem is a little embarrassed on the defensive end, the No. 3 position Raheem moves slowly, and the No. 4 position is relatively short in the era of advocating muscles, and Raheem's running and jumping ability is average, rebounding is average, and he is a player who plays by skill and brain, and is known as " Textbook academic power forward", and even more commendable, Raheem had his own loyal beliefs,* he received a good education from an early age, was humble and kind, and his conduct was reminiscent of Grant Hill.

On November 1, 1996, the regular season officially began, the Grizzlies lost to the Trail Blazers 85-114, Raheem shot 6 of 14 in the first game, scored 16 points and 5 rebounds, this game, opened Raheem's tragic and helpless career.

Soon, the Grizzlies hit with a seven-game losing streak. In the eighth game, while Edwards won the opponent with a explosive performance of 12 of 14 shots and a wild 34 points, Raheem was also absent due to injury......

In the ninth game, Raheem returned, the Grizzlies lost again, and lost four games in a row, Raheem came off the bench in the next game and scored a quasi-triple-double of 19 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists on 6-of-9 shooting, helping the Grizzlies win the game. Raheem averaged 18.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block per game, and this performance also made Raheem selected for the best rookie team in the peerless 96 draft, and another superstar Reeves of the Grizzlies averaged 16.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.1 rebounds per game, but the Grizzlies' record this season is still not ideal, 14-68, ranking first in the league for two consecutive years, however, although the Grizzlies are still struggling in the quagmire of losing, but Raheem and Reeves are the league's most scoring frontcourt combination, these two rising starshas become the cornerstone of the grizzly revival.

Although the Grizzlies have a poor record for two consecutive years, there are still many fans who go to the General Purpose Arena to watch the game, and the Grizzlies' home stadium is one of the most attended arenas in the league, and the enthusiasm of the fans also gives the Grizzlies management great confidence.

The Grizzlies, who have won in the draft for two years in a row, set their sights on the 1997 draft, which was not of high quality, but still has many players who will play famous in the future, and the Grizzlies chose the 22-year-old Antonio Daniels from Berlin Green State University with the fourth pick after many considerations.

Daniels is 193 cm tall, as the No. 1 position, whether it is three-point shooting (career three-point shooting rate of 31.1%), playmaking ability (30 minutes of assists output value is no more than 5), but the defensive end is more ferocious, but these evaluations are hindsight, the Grizzlies selected Daniels is obviously to add firepower on the guard line to relieve pressure for Raheem and Reaves, but it is clear that Daniels does not have such ability.

In fact, many people have seen Daniels, but they usually don't know who that person is, remember Iverson's classic Wizard No. 6 who shook his opponent twice, this sad big brother, is Daniels, but what many people don't know is that Daniels also shook Iverson to the ground, which wants to justify Daniels.

Last season, due to the team's lack of improvement in the record, head coach Winster stepped down, Brad Hill took over, Hill coached the Magic team in the previous four seasons, is a fanatical offensive coach, the Magic team averaged more than 100 points per game in four seasons, the highest reached nearly 111 points, in those days, it was undoubtedly a very good offensive efficiency.

As soon as Hill came to the Grizzlies, he determined that the interior double star was the main offensive firepower, Raheem and Reeves had Hill's support, crazy bombardment of the opponent's restricted area, Reeves played the best season of his career, 1998 Nana On January 15, the Grizzlies lost to the Celtics, but Reaves single-handedly blew up the Green Shirts' interior line, shooting 14 of 21 and scoring 41 points and 12 rebounds, 41 points are also the highest score of Reaves' career! On March 8, 1998, the Grizzlies, who had no hope of making the playoffs, faced their old brother Raptors, Reeves broke out again, slashing 38 points and 11 rebounds on 12 of 18 shots and beating the opposite Camby to no temper, on March 23, 1998, Reaves faced the Clippers inside short inside, Osaiah Austin, 26 shots and 14 shots, and once again exploded 35 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocks, completely dominating the game!

Raheem, who was widely believed to be at his peak in 4-6 seasons at the time of the draft, played as a first-class power forward in the league in the second season of his career, with 82 games in full attendance. Ranking sixth in the league with an average of 22.3 points per game, as well as 7.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks for an all-round performance, on January 20, 1999, Raheem scored 24 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals to help the Grizzlies defeat the Nuggets 88-77 when Reaves, Daniels and Edwards were not performing well, and on the 23rd, Raheem once again scored a team-high 26 points to lead the Grizzlies to defeat the Warriors, and a day later, The Grizzlies defeated the Warriors again with Raheem's team-high performance of 20 points and 7 rebounds, and thus, the Grizzlies ushered in their first three-game winning streak in history!

At the end of the season, the Grizzlies won their best 19 games in franchise history, Raheem and Reaves became the league's hottest frontcourt partners, and in the season's All-Star selection, Raheem's failure to make the All-Star team sparked a big discussion among fans, compared to Daniels, the team's other hopeful, played unsatisfactory, averaging only 7.8 points and 4.5 assists per game, shooting 41.6% from the field and 21.2% from three-point range. At the end of the season, last year's No. 4 pick also failed to make the All-Rookie team.

The Grizzlies' mistakes in the draft caused the team to slow down their path, and in 1998, the Grizzlies were given a two-round pick, which they used to select Mike Beebe from the University of Arizona.

Bibby is 188 cm tall, the No. 1 position, he comes from a sports family, his father Henry Bibby has played in the NBA for eight years, is a very good rotation player, and his uncle is a starter in the baseball league, Bibi's father abandoned Bibi's family when he was a child, and his mother pulled three children to grow up alone, and the misfortune of his childhood made this big boy who looked a little weak on the outside, and had a pure smile spoke very harshly - but only on the basketball court, Bibby averaged 34 points per game in high school, and the opponent not only had to bear the pain of being thrown at will, but also suffered from his ubiquitous trash talk, Bibby was very complacent at this time, Bibby became the most unlikable student in the school, and finally his mother arranged for him to play an adult game, Bibby's height of 188 cm was infinitely magnified, and he was repeatedly beaten by the opponent's tall guard*, and finally, Bibby, who had learned from the pain, finally understood that he could only have a foothold on the basketball court if he shot farther and more accurately. So, he put away his trash talk, indulged in honing his skills, and after his freshman year, his girlfriend became pregnant, and in order to shoulder family responsibilities earlier, Bibby decided to participate in the draft, and was drafted by the Grizzlies with the second pick, who were in dire need of a point guard.

Bibi's style of play is sophisticated and calm, he knows all kinds of tactics by heart, has accurate three-point points, has a big heart, and repeatedly scores winning goals, and is known as the "White Devil" by people in the rivers and lakes.

In order to give Bibi a place, the Grizzlies sent the disappointing Daniels to the Spurs, and Rahim, Reeves, and Bibby formed the new troika of the Grizzlies, but who would have thought that the heavens would not fulfill people's wishes, and when the Grizzlies were building their own majestic blueprint, Reeves fell.

Reaves suffered injuries this season, and his massive weight finally crushed his knees, and after playing 25 games on and off, Reaves underwent knee surgery and lost the season, and his stats stuck at 10.8 points and 5.5 rebounds. The trident is missing the most important link, the other two have repeatedly won the data, but can't win the game, Raheem averaged 23 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, on February 17, 999, the Grizzlies challenged the Celtics away, the two teams played very fiercely, three overtimes, and finally the Grizzlies lost 129-131, Raheem shot 15-of-25 from the field and scored a season-high 39 points (later broken by 41 points in 2001). On February 6, 2000, in the Grizzlies' home defeat to the Mavericks, Raheem scored 36 points on 13-of-25 shooting and a career-high 22 rebounds, which became the best performance of Raheem's career!

Bibby had 13.2 points, 6.5 assists and 1.6 steals, and was named to the Rookie of the Year 1st team this season.

In this shrinking season, the Grizzlies have only won 8 games, which is really hard work for another three years, and they are back to the pre-liberation overnight......

In the 1999 draft, the Grizzlies, who had the top pick, took out Steve Francis, who made a name for himself in the NCAA.

When Francis learned that he was drafted by the Grizzlies, his first reaction was - to play in Canada? Inexistent.

There are many reasons why Francis doesn't want to play for the Grizzlies, firstly, Vancouver is located in Canada, and the weather is cold, and the economy is not very developed, while Francis was born in Maryland, only two hours from New York, secondly, Canada has more taxes than the United States, to put it bluntly, it is the dollar money that is issued, and the tax on Canadian dollars, third, and most importantly, the Grizzlies already have the team's star Bibby in the No. 1 position, and the Grizzlies asked Francis to play the No. 2 position, But the 193-year-old Francis's least favorite thing is to play the No. 2 position.

Francis, as a superstar in the NCAA, is not worried about not having the ball to play, but the Grizzlies have just established the team for only a few years, so under the two assessments, the Grizzlies compromised, so the Grizzlies made a big deal involving 3 teams and designing 11 players for Francis, who has not yet appeared in the NBA, which is the only case in NBA history where a player wants to blackmail a team to trade himself.