What gives? I haven't paid much attention to them, but I know they've been playing well towards the end of the season. And now, they are pushing the No. 1 seed Spurs out of the playoffs. Is it because of Rudy Gay injury causing the team to play better as a whole? (ie. the way Denver played after Anthony was traded) Or is it because of the acquisition of Battier and his leadership? Or something else? Someone who's been paying attention to them, please enlighten me why Memphis is such a different team now.
Probably a little bit of everything, but if I were to put my money on it, it would probably be Battier. He knew the rotations already, and he has experience, which is what Memphis really needed.
The team is stacked. Memphis aren't having surge, they are playing as they should be. In other words, Memphis stopped sucking and starting playing up to their talent.
Word. This team was competing for a playoff spot before Battier joined. They had a 7 game win streak without Mayo (imagine how awesome they'd be with McRoberts) and I think Rudy Gay would definitely match up well with Jefferson. Rockets fans may have to face the reality that the Hornets and Grizzlies are better than the Rockets.
Allen's a journeyman getting a chance to shine. Randolph is finally on a team that seems to appreciate him. Gasol is stepping out of his brother's shadow. Mayo isn't letting the fact that he was almost traded get to him. They're a very balanced team with a lot of talent. But on top of that, they're playing with that underdog attitude that can be so dangerous. I'm not counting them out in the second round.
That's a team could throw away Gasol, Thabeet and Lowry and they are still stacked even with Gay and Mayo on the bench.
Damn shame Gay is out with injury. They could really use him. If Zbo and Gay can can score without interrupting each others flow and form some kind of combo they will be deadly.
Dont forget X Henry is currently injured as well, who took over from OJ Mayo at SG, until he got injured.
I think the reason for Memphis' success boils down to one thing: They believe TALENT > everything. As Jeff van Gundy said in the game broadcast, the Grizzlies have more talent and in the playoffs TALENT > everything else. All that hustle/intangibles/locker-room presence stuff, man, it just would never sell me on it. How many NBA locker rooms have had incidents in the past season? Past two seasons? 3? Its like some people instantly write off a player as a thug and bad influence to the team the moment they get their first DUI conviction.
Being on two teams qualifies you as a journeyman? Take a look at the salary section: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/randoza01.html Are you telling me Portland didn't appreciate him when they signed him to that ludicrous deal? Or the Knicks when they traded for him?
