After completing the major trade, the Grizzlies had a sense of unfamiliarity throughout, with players and coaches, and between the team and fans, the atmosphere was not very warm.
The team couldn't be said to have any tactical system or strategic goals; just maintaining operations to sell tickets was good enough; what more could one ask for?
Moreover, the Grizzlies' lineup was quite odd, with Sam Cassell and Mike Bibby, two standard point guards, starting together to form a dual point guard backcourt, creating a short backcourt.
Their offensive power was quite strong, and their outside shooting once gave the Trail Blazers some headaches, but their defense was terrible, with no barriers or rebounding protection in the backcourt.
Once their outside shooting was off, the Trail Blazers quickly widened the point gap bit by bit.
On the inside, the Grizzlies' once highly regarded "Big Country" Brian Rivers had become a complete role player.
