Grizzlies grow with Hollins

Lionel Hollins never lost faith.

Games? Oh, sure, he's lost plenty of those during his three stints as coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, dating to when the franchise was in Vancouver. There have been 98 losses, to be exact, against 57 wins.

But Hollins' belief in his ability to coach young, rich players has never waned.

Hollins, a product of Rancho High, was the organization's interim coach in Vancouver in 1999. Five years later, he coached the Grizzlies in Memphis for four games until TV analyst Mike Fratello stepped away from his telestrator and took over the team.

Now, Hollins is clearly the man in charge and the Grizzlies are aspiring to make the playoffs for the fourth time in club history and the first since 2006.

"We never talk about that (the playoffs)," Hollins said recently. "We talk about getting better each day, playing together and working hard."

Despite a 1-8 start and a recent skid of four straight losses and six in seven games that dropped the Grizzlies into last place in the Southwest Division, they are within reach of a playoff spot at the All-Star break. At 26-25, they've topped last year's victory total (24-58).

Hollins helped guide Memphis to 13 of those 24 wins after he took over for Marc Iavaroni in January 2009. With a young roster, Hollins loosened the grip Iavaroni held on the players and gave them more freedom on offense. At the same time, he preached the importance of defense.

"We're proud of what we've done," Hollins said. "But we also know there is much work left to do. We have to guard against complacency. We're not good enough to just show up. We have to be at our best every night and outwork people."

Last season helped lay the foundation for this one. With Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay leading the way, Memphis is averaging about 103 points, sixth best in the league. But the Grizzlies remain a work in progress defensively. They're allowing 103.4 points per game.

"The numbers may not show it, but we've made (defensive) progress," Hollins said. "If you look at our 1-8 start, we were giving up 113 a game. Now we're at 104, and when you look at our point differential, we're less than a point's difference.

"Are we where we want to be defensively? No. We have to get better athletically. We have to be able to help and recover. But we are getting better."

That's where Hollins' strength as a coach is having an impact. Hollins, a starting guard on Portland's 1976-77 NBA championship team, was twice a member of the league's All-Defensive Team with the Trail Blazers.

His approach to the game was shaped long before he played for coach Jack Ramsay in Portland. Hollins learned he had to be more than a scorer while being coached in grade school by William Evans at Dula Recreation Center and at Rancho under Lloyd Booth.

"They taught me that basketball wasn't just offense," he said. "They taught me that the other end was just as important. They also taught me to respect the game."

Hollins spent 17 years as an NBA assistant trying to apply that knowledge. He also was head coach of the Las Vegas Bandits in the International Basketball League in 2000-01. Now, he's trying to get the Grizzlies to buy into that philosophy instilled in him as a kid.

Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo said he sees the difference.

"(Hollins) changed the mentality," Mayo said. "Last year he was coming into the midst of a team that was all over the place. This year he's much more of a leader and a guy who is getting the job done."

Hollins gives his players the credit for buying into his program.

"It's very rewarding to see the improvement," he said. "We're so young. O.J. Mayo is in his second year. Mike Conley is in his third year. Rudy Gay is in his fourth year. Marc Gasol is in his second year. They're just starting to figure things out."

As are rookies Hasheem Thabeet and Sam Young. All are part of a core group that general manager Chris Wallace has pieced together. Wallace said Hollins was the right guy for the job because he can teach the game.

"He came in last season under duress and stabilized the situation,'' Wallace said. ''He's had his fingers on the right buttons with all our players. He's gotten them to play hard and play together."

Hollins said coaching is more than just teaching. It's about changing attitudes and a team's culture. The Grizzlies have been a punch line -- or worse, irrelevant -- for much of their existence. But by making the players accountable, on and off the court, Hollins is slowly turning things around.

"It's like Chinese water torture," he said. "You keep hitting them with the water until they get it."

That strategy didn't work with Allen Iverson. Wallace signed the veteran guard over the summer, hoping he would be a team leader for the Grizzlies' youngsters. Instead, Iverson clashed with Hollins over his role as a backup.

Iverson played only three games before he was released and eventually returned to Philadelphia.

"(That situation) somewhat hurt our growth as a unit," Hollins said. "I think there were high expectations from the media and for himself. We had a certain role for him to accept and he didn't want to."

Hollins will attend Sunday's NBA All-Star Game in Dallas to watch Randolph play for the West. On Tuesday the Grizzlies will get back to work on their second-half playoff push, playing Phoenix.

"We've reached a level, but there are other levels to get to," he said.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.