When people talk surprise teams of the 2009-10 NBA season, the Kings jump to mind, as do the Rockets, with good cause of course. Both teams have exceeded expectations with major injuries coming to key franchise players, but what about the Memphis Grizzlies. Are they for some reason old news after the whole Allen Iverson fiasco? Well, teams better start marking their calendars because the Grizzlies are slowly becoming a force, and with the youngest team in the NBA, a force that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
After winning an average of a little more than 23 games in the past three years, this year seemed to be headed in the same direction. The young team was supposed to be guided by veterans Allen Iverson and Zach Randolph…really? That already sounds like a recipe for disaster, how much veteran leadership could these two bring to the table. Sure Iverson took a team to the finals, but these two had been called everything in the book, “lazy” “immature” “fat” and oh yeah, “practice?” What no one paid attention to after the Grizzlies started off 1-8 and Iverson already complaining about coming off the bench despite missing the preseason with an injury, was Zack Randolph had trimmed 15 pounds and ready to finally commit himself on both sides of the court.
Things seem to be turning around for the NBA’s youngest team after they have won 17 of their last 26 games with Randolph leading the way with 20.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game and has come up big against the NBA’s most elite. He poured in 32 points and 14 rebounds in an overtime victory against the Cavaliers. Then a week and a half later, dropped 32 points and 24 boards against the Denver Nuggets in another win, proving the Grizzlies can run with anyone in the NBA. Alongside Randolph, blossoming center Marc Gasol control the paint with nearly 10 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Throw in young budding prospects O.J Mayo, Rudy Gay, and Mike Conley and this team looks like it’s going to be around for quite some time. Already boasting a record above .500 in 18-17, the Grizzlies are only 1.5 games out of the playoffs in a tough western conference where they haven’t been in four years, and it seemed all they needed was a little leadership.
“He’s having a great season. We made him a team captain and he has really took that leadership role to heart,” bragged his head coach Lionel Hollins, who really should be discussed in the Coach of the Year award. He has meshed this young core well together, splitting the schedule up into five game blocks and setting the goal to win two of those five.
It’s their drastic improvement on both sides of the court that has led to their success. Offensively, their seventh in the league, which is two behind the leagues best record Los Angeles Lakers, but what’s most impressive, is their focus on defense. They are fourth in the league in defense, beating out their opponents in every defensive category per game: rebounds, blocks, and steals. Adding to that, Memphis is 14-7 when they score 100 points or above, but are a dismal 8-14 when their opponent scores more than 100, proving how important defense is to this young team.
With a talented young core of players willing to sacrifice for the name on the front of the jersey rather than the back, the Grizzlies are finally coming out of the woods, and they are all hungry for a postseason run.
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