After laying waste to both the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder—who were both heavy favorites entering the playoffs—the Memphis Grizzlies are now pitted against the San Antonio Spurs, a team that has dominated the West for a decade and some change.
Like the previous series, nothing will come easy for Memphis. They are just learning how to compete in the playoffs as they haven’t had much throughout the history of their franchise. Despite losing the first game of the series against the Spurs, they’re still in the running. After all, a series truly begins when someone gets a W at their opponent’s home.
Nevertheless, the core of Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, and Zach Randolph has shown signs of brilliance in the recent years, notably upsetting the San Antonio Spurs in the 2011 playoffs in which the Spurs were the number one seed in the West. The Grizzlies were eighth—the last seed.
Will the Grizzlies be able to overcome the Spurs and make the NBA Finals for the first time ever? And if they get there, will they have a shot against their Eastern Conference counterpart (either the Miami Heat or Indiana Pacers)? The infant franchise has better chance than you think, and here are five reasons why.
The Grizzlies are a Defensive Juggernaut
When the Grizzlies win games, it’s usually to the chagrin of David Stern and the NBA. Like the old, low-scoring Spurs, this team is efficient but somewhat boring considering that much of their expertise is on the defensive end.
Photo source: Cbs Sports, Getty
Memphis is fortunate enough to have this year’s defensive player of the year in Marc Gasol, but he is only a small part in the team’s defensive scheme. The Grizzlies were the best defensive team in the NBA during the regular season, allowing opponents to score only 89.3 points per game.
No One Can Match the Grizz’ Frontcourt
Comparatively speaking, the duo of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph is one of the best in the playoffs. The Spurs have used Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter against Memphis but even that has its flaws. Duncan, while still productive, is one oldest big men in the league and has to rely on others to create space now more than ever. Splitter, while still fairly young in comparison, is very a streaky player which can create turmoil especially this late in the playoffs.
When looking at the Eastern Conference teams, things get more difficult. The Indiana Pacers have veteran David West and Roy Hibbert. Hibbert, in particular, can be a bit of trouble for the team and might garnered an occasionally double team. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, David West has come into his own in Indiana with one caveat—his turnovers have increased. If the Grizzlies can capitalize on his turnovers, then can get the upper hand in the frontcourt matchup.
The story ironically changes with the best team in the NBA, the Miami Heat. Although they have the best trio of superstars ever, they lack a legitimate big man to play alongside Chris Bosh. If these two teams meet up in the Finals, the Grizzlies may be surprised at how easily they can dominate the paint.
Mike Conley’s Game is Being Elevated
Conley is an above average poing guard in the regular season, but something magical is happening in the postseason. His numbers are drastically improving in the playoffs. in the 2012-2013 regular season, Conley averaged 14.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game. The point guard from Ohio State is managing to build on those numbers in the playoffs by averaging 17.6 points, 7.6 assists, and 4,8 rebounds per postseason game.
Photo source: Bleacher Report
Not only that, but Conley is decreasing his turnovers. He averaged 2.4 in the regular season but is now averaging 1.9 per game. If Conley can continue this type of efficiency throughout the next two rounds of the playoffs, then the Grizzlies might be hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy with Conley as the Finals MVP.
He also has a near triple-double against the Thunder in game two, which shows that he is capable of so much more and can showcase it given the opportunity. What better place to demonstrate this than in the last two rounds of the playoffs?
Location, Location, Location
Travel, especially in long stretches of games, can be grueling for any teamn in the playoffs but not Memphis. Especially with the current and potential matchups, the team doesn’t have to travel much since Memphis is serendipitously in the middle of San Antonio, Indiana, and Miami. With teams being as good as they are now, sometimes the small intangibles make all the difference—especially if that means more time to rest. This basketball minutiae might be the small, but determining factor for the team.
They Can Beat the Heat (And Already Have)
The Heat and the Grizzlies faced each other twice in the regular season. One game went in favor of the current champions in a 98-91 game. Although this is alarming at first, the way the game was one should leave any Grizzles fan optimistic about competing with the postseason favorites. The Grizzlies were able to contain LeBron James in the March 1 matchup for about 47 minutes, as he had one of his stat lines of the regular season. But in typical LeBron James fashion, he drained a three with 24 seconds left that put the gave the heat a two-possession lead. The Grizzlies are undoubtedly wiser and tougher heading into the postseason so this sort of outcome won’t be as easy for James and company.
Photo source: Chris Trotman/Getty Images North America
The other game favored Memphis—and by a lot. Heat superstars Chris Bosh and LeBron James both scored 20 points a pieces but Dwyane Wade was limited to only eight. On top of that, the Grizzlies ran down the entire team in the 104-88 victory. 20-point margins of victory are not expected in a seven game series but it goes to show that Memphis is capable of beating the Heat to capture their first NBA championship in the history of the franchise.
