(courtesy of Fantasywired.com)
The Memphis Grizzlies are putting together an impressive
season but despite having the third best record in the NBA they still don’t get
much attention. The Memphis Grizzles are currently second place in the ultra
competitive western conference ahead of teams like the Trail Blazers, Rockets,
and Clippers who seem to receive much more attention.
Perhaps its because the Grizzles lack that jaw-dropping
superstar like Stephen Curry or Damian Lillard but what the Grizzles do have,
is a great team from top to bottom.
You have no choice but to start off down low with one of the
best frontcourts in the NBA, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Marc Gasol is easily having the best season
of his career, Gasol is averaging a career high 18.2 points per game, he is
getting to the free throw line 4.7 times a game which is another career best.
Moving on to the definition of stability, Zach Randolph.
Over the last 4 years Randolph has scored between 15 to 17 points per game with
9 to 11 rebounds per game. His shooting percentage is always in the high 40s
and he is someone that the opposing teams have to constantly game plan
for.
The Combination of Randolph and Gasol is absolutely lethal,
they have built great chemistry with each other in their years in Memphis and
have constantly caused problems for opponents. The combination of the Memphis
big men wears down opponents and creates a rebound differential, which is
usually a key factor to winning the game.
Now on to their backcourt, one of the most slept on point
guards in the league has to be Mike Conley. He is scoring 16.4 points per game
which is the second highest in his career and he is also shooting an impressive
39.1 percent form the three point line.
Between Conley, Gasol, and Randolph they average 51.1 points which
proves that they are one of the most lethal big three’s in the league.
The next three players add a lot of versatility to the
Grizz, Jeff Green, Courtney Lee, and Tony Allen. Jeff Green can provide a spark
on both offense and defense. He is someone that can guard three positions on
defense, which will be very beneficial to Memphis in the playoffs.
Courtney Lee is another key piece to the success of the
Grizzles; he is that dominant three-point shooter that every good team
has. Shooting almost 44 percent from
downtown this season and scoring 10.8 points per game he provides a scoring
punch from the two-guard position.
Last but certainly not least is a player that a lot of NBA
fans would love to have on their team, Tony Allen. The feisty two guard is arguably
still the best on ball defender in the NBA. He does a great job of limiting NBA
Superstars day in and day out and he’s comes up huge for Memphis in the
playoffs.
(AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
Memphis is clearly a team that could make a serious run in
the western conference and if players like Beno Udrih and Vince Carter can play
well off the bench in the playoffs then look out for the Grizz.
