His world is crumbling around him -- on the court, off the court, in the locker room, in two different countries and currencies -- yet Lowe continues to plug away, coach to the end. He preaches sacrifice, he urges discipline, he demands that players treat their jobs and themselves with respect even when so few around them are offering up much of that.

Lowe, in his first season as the Grizzlies' chief bench boss, has endured all the usual problems facing the coaches of losing teams -- grumbling players, unhappy basketball execs, impatient fans and so on.

Plus, Lowe has the uncertainty of Vancouver's imminent move hanging over his head. If there's any shift in ownership when current owner Michael Heisley moves the club to (probably) Memphis, Lowe could be out of work. If the fervor for a fresh start makes it tempting to fire Lowe as window dressing, that at least "something is being done," well, that wouldn't be good for Lowe either.

And even if he continues in his post, he'll likely have the same management, including president Dick Versace, looking over his shoulder again next season.

Through it all at least Lowe is focusing on next season. Just as soon as this one ends.

"I'm going to ask each player, that besides working on certain aspects of their game, that they ask themselves what they can or could have done to help this team win more ball games," the coach said. "It's an interesting group because there's times when we play so well. I thought at one point, maybe we're starting to understand a little bit. Then we'll hit a tough stretch."

The Grizzlies reached triple figures in victories, all-time, when they beat the Clippers last week. But they still were stuck on 22 victories a couple of games later -- 23 would be a new single-season high, and the Grizzlies were down to just four more chances to get there after a loss to Minnesota on Tuesday.

The season has not been a total loss: Vancouver won four of its first five games to stir excitement at GM Place in what, even then, seemed likely to be a down year. It recorded consecutive victories over the Portland Trail Blazers and it recently beat the Knicks.

But after the game against the Timberwolves, Vancouver had lost 13 of 15 games and dropped to 10-41 against teams at or above .500. It is 6-27 when giving up 100 points and 5-42 when shooting less than 45 percent.

Such is life with a lottery-bound team.

"You can hit your stride in the middle of the season," the resilient Lowe said. "Things can click at the beginning, things can click with three games left to where you just get it. So I just think there's always the chance that these last few games, the guys will just understand. It'll just click."

Personnel File

WHERE WILL THEY GO: The Grizzlies haven't pinned down plans for holding pre-draft workouts. Owner Michael Heisley indicated that the team might invite prospects to Vancouver after all. Otherwise, locations in Chicago and Memphis have been mentioned.

Noteworthy

A THROWN WRENCH: Vancouver might be the discarded market, but the Grizzlies' apparent new market of choice, Memphis, has problems of its own. Politicians there have not been pleased with the financing plans for a proposed $250 million arena.

The possibility that taxpayers might have to generate close to half that amount is not winning over many skeptics. Other needs, such as education improvements, would seem to be greater priorities.

"It really could not have come at a worse time," state house majority leader Gene Davidson told The Commercial Appeal of the arena proposal. "Everybody wants to be fair to Memphis but it's going to be a very hard sell."

THISCLOSE: The best first chance that Vancouver had to win its 23rd game of the season came in a 98-97 loss in Denver. Forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim missed a short jumper that bounced off the rim as the horn sounded. After scoring 32 points, including 10 of Vancouver's final 12 points, Abdur-Rahim said: "I was trying to get a good look at it. I probably could have passed the ball back to somebody else for a better shot than I did. I just tried to make a play to win the game."

Said Lowe, noting the triple-team Abdur-Rahim faced: "That was not what we wanted for the last shot."

THEY STINK: NBC analyst Bill Walton had his opinion of the Grizzlies' predicament: "With decent players, this franchise would have been a cash cow," he said.

QUICK STUFF: Rookie Stromile Swift had a root canal last week and missed practice. ... Vancouver finished with a 12-12 all-time mark against the Clippers, the only Western Conference opponent that didn't post a winning record against the Grizzlies.

Heisley admitted he was surprised that Charlotte also applied to relocate its team to Memphis, but said he had expected the Hornets management to explore options. ... The unpopular owner also said he hoped to attend one of the Grizzlies' final games of the season, but would rely on security people to let him know if that was advisable.

QUOTEWORTHY: "My portable (phone) didn't work down there. It was very relaxing." -- owner Michael Heisley on his recent stay, with little communication, at his vacation home in the Dominican Republic.