2009 NBA Draft Analysis: Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis made a good choice in choosing Hasheem Thabeet instead of someone like Ricky Rubio. The team seriously needs someone big and tough in the paint since they already have OJ Mayo and Mike Conley as Guards.

I rate their pick as 4/5 because Memphis filled in their necessity of a defensive big man instead of getting another guard when they already have two decent ones. Hasheem Thabeet brings with him a reputation of being a big shot-blocker in college ball. Not to mention that this guy stands at a towering 7"3 which makes him one of the biggest centers currently in the NBA.

This comes as a big help to Memphis whose centers are only Mark Gasol and Hamed Haddadi whose performances have been quite lackluster. Hasheem might need a little help on his scoring abilities, but when you have got other teammates like OJ Mayo who are great scorers what Memphis needs him to do is to perform defensively since Memphis' defense has been quite bad.

I think that Thabeet will perfectly fit in Memphis' 2009-10 plans because he will certainly help them improve their ranking this year, and there might be the possibility that he will help them reach the playoffs like how Michael Beasley helped Miami reach the NBA playoffs this year after a disastrous season 2 years ago. I think that Hasheem will provide a solid performance for Memphis and he will make their defense tougher this year.

Another way Memphis can fit him in their plans is as a force on the offensive board which will give Memphis 2nd chance points. I think that this pick will change the power rankings in the Western Conference. This pick will surely change the power rankings in the Western Conference. Hasheem's defensive power will surely bring them to 8th or 9th in the Western Conference. He will be a match against centers like Yao Ming and Chris Andersen. I think he will complement OJ Mayo and can raise OJ's performance by giving him more room to breathe by rebounding missed shots and being the go-to guy in defense.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/draft;_ylt=AgoZBqK7ta8MtJQgtwSvdt7Pgq9_