



Last year the Grizzlies played at one of the slowest tempos in the NBA, consistently walking the ball up the floor and immediately dumping it down low to their big men duo of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. According to Gasol, though, now that Dave Joerger has taken over head coaching duties from Lionel Hollins, the team will be pushing the rock up the court a little faster. Per ESPN: “All-Star center Marc Gasol expects the Memphis Grizzlies to become more of a running team this season, and that’s absolutely fine with him. Gasol, currently heading Spain’s challenge at EuroBasket, says he’s had discussions with new head coach Dave Joerger about a fresh direction for the Grizzlies after a summer overhaul that began with the exit of Lionel Hollins and the addition of seven players to the roster, including Mike Miller from Miami and Kosta Koufos from Denver. It’s a gamble for a team coming off a trip to the Western Conference finals and a season in which Gasol was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. Joerger had specific oversight of a unit that allowed a league-low 89.3 points per game during the regular season. Now, it’s the offense that’s a prime source of attention for the rookie coach, and he’s got his starting center bought in to a running game. ‘Coach Joerger has been there for six years,’ Gasol told ESPN.com on Wednesday. ‘He knows us pretty well. He knows how we play. He knows us personally, how we like to play basketball. He, of course, wants to push the tempo, which has been a problem for us, getting up and down the floor to score easy buckets. Because when you always go inside, everybody collapses on you in the paint and it’s hard to operate down there. He’s going to push the tempo and have a lot of plays from his pocket that he’s told me [about]. And I’m excited about next season.'”

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