Vancouver Grizzlies - 1998/99 (2nd year)

[megarover]

Great Trade for Jackson. He and Peja were my favorite players on those Early 00's Kings ..

[tsmoha]

@SuperHuey: Thanks, man! Glad you like the presentation. And don't mind about your age. You'll see a lot of current players entering the drafts then

@megarover: Yeah, I also liked Peja. And Bobby Jackson can be a key player for us. Nice contract and decent skills.. and we have some news on our other PG Daniels here, so you may check the first December-report..

December Part #1: Vancouver Grizzlies vs New Jersey Nets
OT Loss, 98-107

The Grizzlies keep losing, but they're getting closer to their third win. After losing to the Bucks by only 1 point two days ago, the Grizzlies faced the Nets and built a 19-points lead late in 3rd quarter! But things turned around dramatically and Vancouver found themselves trailing by 2 points 3 seconds before finish: Michael Smith kept cool and made his lay-up - 88:88.. still, the Nets had a run and left the Grizzlies chanceless in OT. Sam Cassell had 31 pts, 5 Ass and 5 Steals for the Nets, Kerry Kittles added 19 pts.. a disappointing day for Vancouver, which also lost rookie guard Antonio Daniels, who will be sidelined for 2-4 weeks with an Ankle sprain.


Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 29 pts and 7 Reb, but missed two FT's 30 second before final whistle. Grizzlies' center Bryant Reeves had a double-double: 21 pts, 10 Reb.


Without any questions, Cassell was the player of the match. He was outstanding, especially in OT, where the Nets dominated Vancouver.

[megarover]

Damn when you let a game slip through your fingers like that most kats end up breaking a couple screens or tables or sumthing . Dnt remember those Nets being a dominant team but then again neither were the Grizz

[tsmoha]

@megarover: I tell you, it was frustrating No table or screen got damaged, but... well, if you lead by 19 pts, you can't believe you're still able to lose.

Breaking News: Houston trades both Drexler and Olajuwon!


8./9. December: Two All-Stars will leave Houston! The Rockets traded their two living legends Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon: Drexler will join the Nuggets, while the Rockets receive a 1st Round Pick in 1998 draft - and Olajuwon was traded to the Lakers. It seems like the Rockets rebuild their roster dramatically in order to give this season up for the next draft. The Nuggets, also one of the worst teams in NBA so far, surprisingly gave up a first-round pick though, while the Lakers traded center Elden Campbell and promising guard Derek Fisher for Olajuwon and veteran Mario Elie. Fisher may become an important key to the Rocket's rebuilding process and the Lakers now have a phenomenal frontcourt with Olajuwon, Shaq O'Neal and Robert Horry!

Trade #1: HOUSTON traded Clyde Drexler and Eddie Johnson
to DENVER for Cory Alexander and Denver's 98' 1st round-pick

Trade #2: HOUSTON traded Hakeem Olajuwon and Mario Elie
to LA LAKERS for Elden Campbell and Derek Fisher


The 35 years old Olajuwon, who spent 13 years as Rocket's starting center, will come off the Lakers' bench.. can he handle this situation? Things will be interisting in LA this year!

[Radioman]

Now this is weird

Olajuwon and Shaq on one team, this gives Jordan and the Bulls a challenge to go for their 6th title.

I would start both, Olajuwon at the PF and Shaq as a Center, together with Kobe this team wins 82 Games.

[megarover]

This would have been crazy ass trade if it had happened irl. I mean the Nuggets were awful that year so their pick should be pretty high. Great moves for the Lakers and Rockets. One builds toward the future and the other try to win the title. The Nuggets look like the only losers in this.

[tsmoha]

@Radioman: Definitely weird.. but it seems like Olajuwon will be coming off bench, as Robert Horry plays as starting PF (I guess)

@megarover: Totally agree on the Nuggets being the big losers here.. The Rockets now hold two good picks (their own and Denver's) and Denver? Well, they have an aging Drexler, but why would you give up a possible lottery pick? Seems like a NY Knicks-early 2000's-move

Just forgot to mention another trade, that happened late in November: TORONTO traded Doug Christie to ATLANTA for Alan Henderson and Chris Crawford! So the Raptors seem to trust their young rookie McGrady to play as starting SG and give him more minutes there.. Just wanted to announce this trade, as I did some of my trading cards for the Raptors.. a McGrady "Rookie card" and a (now outdated) Christie-card:

[megarover]

Looking at these cards made me wanna find my old basketball cards. Found Doug Christie, Bryant Reeves and Michael Smith. Plus a shitload of Bobby Jackson's I practically had a Jackson 5 going on

[tsmoha]

@megarover: Lucky man I've been searching for my cards, too, but don't know where they are.. may ask my mother soon, she often has the masterplan

[tsmoha]

December Part #2: Grizzlies vs Denver Nuggets
OT Loss, 93-100

Another close match. Vancouver lost control in final quarter, but still led by 2 points 30 seconds before finish. Anyway, they didn't win regular time: 84-84 after 48 minutes, second overtime in a row. And again, the Grizzlies couldn't compete in additional five minutes and lost by 7 points.. but what a matchup this was - the young and promising Shareef Abdur-Rahim vs All-Star and future Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, who got traded to the Nuggets recently:


Abdur-Rahim dominated the whole game and had 48 points in the end! His best game in his young NBA career, what a huge night for him..


..but there was also Clyde "The Glide" Drexler (35 years old). The veteran had an impressive second half after a struggling start and had 41 points. And this guy still can fly..

[Radioman]

Another tough loss, seems that Drexler made the difference this time. This was just bad luck he was traded to Denver a few days before. Congrats though to the 48 points for Shareef.

[megarover]

Wow you unlucky as a mug. How many teams get 40 dropped on their heads by a 35 year old. No one but our Grizzlies .

But maybe I'm giving Drexler the short end of the stick. He probably can still lead this Nuggets team to a decent record.

[tsmoha]

@Radioman: Yeah, tough loss and bad timing with Drexler And thanks for Shareef-congrats!

@megarover: The Grizzlies can do anything Drexler is still good, but I don't think he'll lead them to a decent record.. I may be wrong though. We will see.

December 1997 - Results

Grizzlies record: 5-23


The Grizzlies snapped a nine-game losing streak with a close, but well deserved win (29-14 in 4th quarter) against the recently rebuilt Rockets: the start of a 3-2 week for Vancouver. Two wins against the Wizards and Raptors at home. The Grizzlies then were facing a tough schedule with games against San Antonio (loss) and some East Coast-games in Miami (loss) and Chicago (January)..

December Part #3: Some impressions


Shareef Abdur-Rahim was the key player against the Rockets, scoring 34 points plus grabbing 9 boards.. Center Bryant Reeves added another double-double (20/11) and rookie guard Bobby Jackson had 13 pts, 5 reb and 6 assists.


The Grizzlies looked good against the strong Knicks, leading by 11 points at halftime. But a stunning 2nd half by Patrick Ewing (picture) made the Knicks winning 97-88. Ewing had 22 pts, 11 reb and 6 assists, Knicks guard John Starks added 19 pts.. for Vancouver, Abdur-Rahim scored 28 pts, 10 boards and veteran center Brad Daugherty had 18 pts.. power forward Tony Massenburg, who replaced Michel Smith (sidelined for 4 weeks), had his best game this season: 13 pts, 8 reb.


"The Twin Towers" dominated the boards in Grizzlies' loss against the Spurs: designated "Rookie of the Year" Tim Duncan (picture) had 36 pts, 13 boards, while veteran David Robinson had 28 pts, combining for 64 points (Spurs total: 108)! Abdur-Rahim had 33 pts for Vancouver.

[megarover]

Wow it took you one week......One week to win more games then you did all season in a span of 7 days. At this rate Shareef might be drawing in some All-Star consideration

[Solaris Phase Two]

Yo this series is awesome. Cant wait to see what iverson and all the young dudes do

[thatwizardguy]

Lots of losses in December

sorry only spotted this one now

[Radioman]

I want to know if the Knicks can win a title in this one.

[tsmoha]

@Radioman: If the Knicks don't make their real-life-mistakes, they may get a shot at the Championship! (I do hope so, as I'm a fan of the Knicks, btw)

@thatwizardguy: Yeah, tons of losses this season, but we didn't expect that much from this season, so it ain't that bad

@Dmastawwe: Thanks for following! It will be interesting to see, what Iverson, Marbury and the others do, yes!

@megarover: A good week it was I feel better now, the losses get closer and we may get some more wins soon. And yes, Shareef is definitely doing well, as you may see in below's player stats.

Grizzlies News: Vancouver adds depth to their roster

#1: VANCOUVER re-calles guard Chris Robinson from D-Leauge.

Robinson, a sophomore shooting guard, was the Grizzlies' 2nd pick (51st overall) in 1996 Draft and had 41 games with Vancouver last year, averaging 4.6 points. He was .382% from outside and was in the starting lineup for 6 times.

#2: VANCOUVER signes guard C.J. Bruton.

Bruton, 53rd overall pick in 1997 Draft (by Vancouver), didn't make the team in pre-season, but he's now given a chance to replace Lee Mayberry as the backup point guard.

NBA News: Rockets continue to shop their veterans!

Drexler: gone. Olajuwan: gone. Kevin Willis? Now he's gone, too. The Houston Rockets seem to throw their season away and continue to collect draft picks instead. This time, they trade their veteran center Willis to San Antonio and receive Monty Williams and the Spurs' 1998 1st round pick:

HOUSTON traded Kevin Willis to
SAN ANTONIO for Monty Williams and San Antonio's 1998 first round-pick

December 1997 - Player stats




Two months, 5 wins, one superstar: the Grizzlies still have to figure out the best way of playing and with only Abdur-Rahim performing on high level, the season goal of 17+ wins will be a really tough one. Rookie guard Jackson has some good numbers, but has way too many turnovers right now, and especially Reeves has to step up: he averages almost 3 points less than last year. At his age (25), the Grizzlies did expect at least the same scoring (16ppg) as he had in 1996-97.

[qfrmcpt310]

Wow, this is awesome. Not really into retro dynasties that much, but this one has made me make a exception.

[megarover]

The Rockets have completely blown up their roster. Drexler, Hakeem and Willis all gone. Barkley probably looking real mad and lonely down there in Houston. Don't worry Chuck there's a spot on TNT waiting for you. The Spurs-Rockets trade doesn't make much sense

[tsmoha]

@megarover: Yeah, some weird moves by the Rockets, but at least they got some possible lottery-picks

@qfrmcpt310: Thanks for the kind words! Hope you will enjoy this exception

Here some new trading cards I've made:

[Radioman]

I like those cards. O'Neal was always kept short with the Blazers, i think noone thought that he will have those great years later in Indiana.

[tsmoha]

Thanks, Radioman! I will check O'Neal's stats soon, as I don't know exactly who he's doing at the moment. But maybe the Blazers do better things with O'Neal in this story

Last year's Grizzly Lawrence Moten returns

VANCOUVER signed guard Lawrence Moten

The Vancouver Grizzlies announced this signing after being on a 10-game losing streak. The heavy schedule (games against the Bulls, Spurs, Jazz and Lakers) left the Grizzlies winless in early January. With Moten, who has already been with the Grizzlies in 95-96 and 97-97 (6.6ppg), the management adds some depth to their roster.

New starting five for Vancouver

Coach Brian Hill made some changes in Grizzlies' rotation: struggling guard Blue Edwards will be replaced by Sam Mack, who came off the bench the whole season. Mack (8.5ppg) is the team's best three-point-shooter and is given more minutes now.. It also appears, that Tony Massenburg will remain as Vancouver's starting PF, even after Michael Smith's return from injury.

[tsmoha]

Breaking News: Houston sent Barkley to Pacers for Rose!

It will be one of the biggest stories of this 97-98 season: the Houston Rockets trade all (!) of their superstars.. Hakeem Olajuwon, Mario Elie (LA Lakers), Clyde Drexler, Eddie Johnson (Denver) and Kevin Willis (San Antonio) have all been traded and now it's Charles Barkley, who has to leave the team. Barkley will go to Indiana, where the 34 years old veteran will have a good chance to make the NBA finals (as the Pacers lead the Eastern Conference). The Rockets get promising guard-forward Jalen Rose (25 years), who's averaging 14ppg this season and who will be Houston's go-to-guy.. the Rockets now have two possible lottery picks (their own and Denver's) in 1998 draft, as well as San Antonio's 1st-round pick and some promising talents like Rose or Derek Fisher (acquired from Lakers), but they also left their fans being speechless by trading all of their playoffs-hopes away. At least it's an "interesting" move and maybe in a few years, the fans will be thankful for that "wasted" season.

HOUSTON traded Charles Barkley to
INDIANA for Jalen Rose and Indiana's 1999 2nd-round pick


This "collection" of All-Stars is Rocket's history..

[Radioman]

Seems like the Rockets really want to start over, interesting to see which players they can get in the draft.