Memphis Grizzlies: Why They Can Win the Western Conference

The Memphis Grizzlies were the biggest surprise of the 2011 NBA playoffs, shocking the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs by eliminating them in the first round and then pushing the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in the conference semifinals. The most impressive part about Memphis' 2011 postseason run? They did it without Rudy Gay.

Well, now we're in 2012, and Gay is healthy. Also, Zach Randolph, last year's playoff hero, appears to be back in the swing of things after missing over two months due to a torn MCL. So, for the first time in what seems like an eternity, the Grizzlies are at full strength, and that means the rest of the Western Conference should be very, very wary.

Every time I put on ESPN or read articles online, I see writers, fans and the like talking about the Thunder, the Spurs and, to a lesser extent, the Los Angeles Lakers as the teams that can reach the finals out of the West. Rarely do I ever see any mention of Memphis, and that puzzles me. Is everyone forgetting what this team did last year without Gay?

I honestly feel that the Grizz pose the biggest threat to Oklahoma City. As evidenced by them pushing Kevin Durant's club to the limit in '11 (and by their 94-88 victory over the Thunder this past week), the Grizzlies' match up very well with the prohibitive Western Conference favorites. They have an outstanding perimeter defender in Tony Allen to contain the likes of Durant and Russell Westbrook (whomever he is assigned to), outstanding big men led by Randolph and Marc Gasol to counter Oklahoma City's frontcourt of Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka and something the Thunder don't have: a deep bench.

Having Randolph and Gasol up front is the most scary feature of Memphis. We are talking about arguably the most lethal duo of low-post players in the league, with only the Lakers' one-two punch of Andrew Bynum and Marc's brother, Pau, challenging it. Having those two guys absolutely wreaks havoc on opposing defenses, especially considering the Grizzlies have very good offensive wings in Gay and sixth man O.J. Mayo to provide them with some support.

As I'm sure you can already tell from what I've said, Memphis can beat you in many different ways. It can pound you down low, it can win on the strong play of its perimeter scorers, and it can win by having countless reliable bench players, the recently signed Gilbert Arenas among them.

I feel that I should also note that Marreese Speights has busted out in a fairly big way with the Grizz, averaging just under nine points and just over six rebounds a game after being cast off by the Philadelphia 76ers (and boy, could they use his services right now or what?). Having a productive big man like Speights come off the pine is a luxury that not too many other teams have, and it could end up paying significant dividends for the Grizzlies in the postseason when Randolph and/or Gasol need some rest.

The West is extremely wide open, as I believe that any of four teams (Oklahoma City, San Antonio, the Lakers and this Memphis team) can win it. The thing for the Grizz is that they match up extremely well with all of those teams. They have the size to counter the Thunder and Los Angeles, and we all remember what they did to the Spurs sans Gay last year (although I should certainly mention that Manu Ginobili missed game one and then played the remainder of the series with a busted elbow).

I am going to go out on a limb and pick the Grizzlies as the team that I think will represent the Western Conference in the finals.

Are you laughing? Then I suggest you bear in mind what they did during the 2011 postseason. Again, without Gay.