Memphis has to be considered one of the most compelling teams next year, right? The Grizzlies have been one of the most interesting teams in the NBA starting with their decision to lose games so they could play San Antonio in the Playoffs. That’s right. They lost on purpose so they could play the Spurs. How did that conversation even go: “Hey guys, we could lose a few games and play the team with the best record in the Western Conference, the team with the best power forward of all time, one of the most experienced playoff teams out there and the team with one of the best coaches and two of the best foreign guards ever. Should we tank games and play them? Well, I can’t think of any reason why we shouldn’t.”
So Memphis played with all the ferocity and vitriol of a wet dish rag at the end of the season with Zach Randolph and Tony Allen playing an ambitious zero minutes combined the last two games, and suddenly this scrappy upstart of a team was on people’s radar. The best part of the whole decision? It worked! It actually worked. They squared off against the Spurs and smacked them in the mouth in game one, lost an absolute heart-breaker in overtime in game 5, and as a final eff-you, beat the Spurs in San Antonio in game 6.
Suddenly Memphis was one of the more exciting teams left in the playoffs. Even the way Memphis got their wins was exciting. Every victory was a constant struggle between poor shooting and good defense. What Memphis lacked in skill (skill), they more than made up for in athletic defense, and had the edge every game in the having-Zach-Randolph-and-Marc-Gasol-on-your-team category (very under-rated stat going into the playoffs). Those two pushed San Antonio around inside on offense and defense, and on the wing, the Spurs had no answer to Memphis’s perimeter defense. Memphis won by playing like a hockey team and just out muscling and out hitting San Antonio.
This is not only awesome to watch, but also a good way to win in the playoffs where rebounds and points at the rim are like food and water. Good defense and inside production was something Memphis could count on every game, and for a while, was all they needed. Unfortunately, good defense ended up losing the struggle alluded to earlier, and threes that counted were not a common site for Memphis in their last few games. The Grizzlies lacked the timely perimeter shooting all championship teams have, and eventually their grit and grind style was overwhelmed by Kevin Durant and the rest of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Grizzlies still have plenty of reason to be optimistic going into the off-season. They were only a few made baskets away from the Western Conference Finals with their best shot-maker on the bench; and when Gay comes back, he could be their version of ‘Mike’s Secret Stuff.’ Rudy Gay is by far the most compelling potential superstar nobody is talking about this off-season. Gay looked poised to throw a coming out party half way through the 2010-2011 season when an injury stopped the celebration before he got a chance to blow out the candles. Certain elements will be there for Memphis next season. They will get production from Z-Bo inside. They will have one of the best and only true centers in the NBA in Marc Gasol. They will get good defense from Tony Allen, and they will get scoring from their stable of capable perimeter players. The only question mark is whether the right wrist of Rudy Gay has enough daggers in it to get Memphis to the finals.
More than any other sport, basketball teams need a superstar to win. In hockey you can get away without one, in baseball you can get away without one, and in football you can get away without one. But in basketball, step one to winning a championship is getting a superstar. At the end of this season, Zach Randolph was the closest thing the Grizzlies had, and even though he is a guaranteed twenty and ten, he is not a superstar. He is an extremely productive player, but the fact that he can’t have the ball in his hands for the first 12 seconds of a possession limits him at the end of games. To take the next step, Memphis needs to have somebody who can bring the ball up the court and hit a game-winner as time expires, not just from the block but from anywhere. Randolph went 2-8 from three this post-season. That doesn’t qualify as anywhere. Gay however, has proven he has the courage (read: balls) to make these shots, and towards the end of his season, the rightfully cocky 24 year old not only wanted, but commanded the ball late in the game.
In 2006, Gay was drafted based on his upside, and in 2010, the optimism of Memphis appears justified. At 24, Gay will be entering his prime this season and, if his first few years in the league are at all indicative of things to come, he will only get better. If he does, Memphis will have their superstar and their answer to the NBA playoffs riddle. And if OJ Mayo can find his shot, and if Z-Bo can stay ageless, and if Gasol can be the 2010-2011 playoffs Gasol all season, and if Conley can keep up his solid play, and if Tony Allen can pretend he’s not turning 30, and if Xavier Henry, Sam Young, and Greivis Vasquez can all reach their potential, the Grizzlies will have the eh-hem, courage, to make it further in the playoffs than their franchise ever has. Read that last sentence again while rubbing a rabbits foot, watering a four leaf clover and turning every penny you own face up.
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