If you think a coaching change can’t make a difference, then you haven’t seen the Memphis Grizzlies lately.

When Memphis fired coach Mike Fratello last week after a 6–24 start — a beginning that I will grant looked worse because of an inordinate number of close losses, but was bad no matter how you sliced it — one of the criticisms was that the team was playing boring basketball.

The Grizzlies were the league’s slowest-paced team in 2005–06, and near the bottom of the league a year earlier (I measure this with a tool I call Pace Factor, which calculates a team’s possessions per 48 minutes). Even after vowing to run more this season, it was hard for Fratello to snap his old habits. Through 30 games, Memphis ranked 28th in Pace Factor, an improvement if you’re being finicky, but not quite what the locals were hoping for. And while that style of play produced a 49-win campaign a year earlier, it had the Grizzlies mired at the bottom of the West this season.

Granted, there were extenuating circumstances. It’s tough to get too enthused about running when your backcourt consists of Damon Stoudamire, Chucky Atkins, Eddie Jones, and Mike Miller. And obviously, the loss of All-Star forward Pau Gasol for two months because of a foot injury wasn’t a fortuitous development, nor was the trade of role player extraordinaire Shane Battier.

Nonetheless, in the three games since swapping coaches, the Grizzlies look like a completely different team. Personnel director Tony Barone, who has taken over as interim head coach, has the rare luxury of being allowed to try new things and fail or succeed because he knows he’s going back to his personnel gig once the season ends.

Barone is taking that luxury and running with it — literally. While Fratello had the Grizzlies focused on playing a defense-first, halfcourt brand of basketball, Barone has turned them into the second coming of Loyola Marymount. Before the interim coach took the helm, Memphis had scored 109 points in a regulation game only twice this season. They’ve done it three times in three games under Barone — the capper being Wednesday’s wild 144–135 win over Golden State.

The key has been the frontcourt players. While the Grizzlies have an old, fairly slow group in the backcourt, their big men can beat almost anyone down the court. Gasol, Hakim Warrick, and Stromile Swift all are slender guys who get their noses bloodied in Fratello’s halfcourt game but can run the widebodies ragged. Small forward Rudy Gay fits a similar profile.

So while the guards aren’t always successful at pushing it upcourt, the bigs have converted a huge chunk of the opportunities. In three games under Barone, Swift has especially benefited. Renowned for great athleticism but castigated for his lack of strength and even greater lack of focus, Swift has been miscast his entire career in halfcourt settings that didn’t play to his skills. He’s been reborn with the new regime, averaging 18.0 points, 10.7 boards, and 2.0 blocks since the change.

But oddly enough, the biggest beneficiary has been the slowerfooted Miller. Following Barone’s instructions to shoot first and ask questions later, Miller has made at least seven three-pointers in all three games — something he failed to do even once under Fratello. He’s been particularly good at catching an upcourt pass in transition and “gripping and ripping,” sometimes from several feet behind the line.

Here’s the best stat on Miller: In three games under Barone, he’s made 23 3-pointers and missed 16 shots. Not 3-point shots — shots. Field goals, free throws, everything. He’s averaged 30.7 points in the three contests, and is already working on his Western Conference Player of the Week acceptance speech.

There is a downside to all this attacking, as Barone’s commitment to offense has occasionally meant a less focused performance at the defensive end. The crowning example was a play on Wednesday when all five Grizzlies, including the 5-foot-10-inch Stoudamire, crashed the offensive boards at once. When they failed to claim the rebound, it left Golden State with a 2–on–none break for an easy dunk.

But the Grizzlies weren’t a good defensive team even before the coaching change. They ranked 23rd in Defensive Efficiency, and only their slow pace was making opponents’ point totals look respectable. Under Barone, they’re still a bad defensive team, but now at least they’re offsetting it with some fireworks of their own. And it’s helping in the win column, too. Memphis has won twice in three tries since the change, with the only defeat a two-point loss at Houston against an en fuego Tracy McGrady.

And suddenly, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. Sparkplug rookie point guard Kyle Lowry will be off the injured list soon, and can inject more speed into the Grizzlies’ suddenly potent running game. Gasol appears up to speed again, giving the team an All-Star building block in the middle. And the talents of players like Swift, Warrick, and Gay now are a much better fit with the team’s system.

It’s too late to save this season, of course, but in one week the Grizzlies have gone from looking deader than Elvis to looking like a rising force for next season. Throw in a high first-round draft pick in a loaded draft, another year of development from the youngsters, and improved health from Gasol, and it’s easy to envision Memphis making a quick return to the postseason a year from now.

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After months of shopping, the Nets finally got something in return for disgruntled point guard Jeff McInnis, a player who’d fallen so far off the radar that many of you probably forgot he was on the roster. With the Bobcats desperate for point guard help, New Jersey dealt him and “undisclosed cash considerations” to Charlotte on Wednesday for swingman Bernard Robinson.

“Undisclosed cash considerations” is NBA-speak for “McInnis made $2.6 million more than Robinson, and Charlotte didn’t want to eat the difference.” Instead, the Nets will fork over most or all of the pay disparity. The economics still work in Jersey’s favor, however, because the deal gets them under the league’s dollar-for-dollar luxury tax — so they actually save $2.6 million even if they pay the same amount to Charlotte.

On the court, this deal doesn’t help Jersey with its biggest need — getting some beef up front — but Robinson could fill a niche. He’s a good wing defender on a team that needs help in that area, and his presence could allow the team to play small more often and thereby ease the strain on the frontcourt.

jhollinger@nysun.com