Memphis Grizzlies: Why You Should Root for the Western Conference Wonders

There are crazy things going on over in the Western Conference these days, folks, and for all my Midwestern and East Coast cohorts who don't have the time or the desire to sleep a mere five hours a night, it has been getting difficult to keep up with storyline after storyline.

The San Antonio Spurs are doing their best to make everyone who called them too old dumb as they are eviscerating the conference, both LA teams are up-and-down so much that they might as well be doing jumping jacks, and the bottom of the playoff picture is so close that the 10th place team could end up with the sixth seed in the playoffs.

However, the real team to watch, the real story of all stories has to be the Memphis Grizzlies rumbling toward the playoffs. They've won 10 of their last 13 games and look as if they could make a run for the three-spot in the playoffs.

There's been something special about the way this team has been playing, and when you watch them play, it's impossible to not get sucked in unless you have a rooting interest in their opponent.

In their most recent run, they've beaten the Lakers, Bucks, Mavericks, Heat, Thunder, Clippers, Jazz and Suns. That's eight of their 10 wins coming against teams that are either playoff locks or fighting for playoff spots.

But the fact that they're playing well isn't what makes this team so enthralling; there are so many more subtle nuances about this team that you pick up on by watching and following the career arcs of their enigmatic players.

That Kooky Big-Man Situation

As the foremost three occupiers of the Grizzlies paint, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Marreese Speights have set the trend for both ends of the floor with this team, starting with Gasol and Gay.

The interesting thing about this Grizzlies team is that their frontcourt and backcourt play defense seemingly independent of each other, and they're so good that it seems to be working.

Teams like Chicago play defense as one cohesive unit, while Miami has such freak athletes that they can afford to gamble on defense with little fear of getting burned too much.

However, Memphis fights a two-front war, only they do it more like the US against Germany and Japan, not like Germany fighting the US and Russia at the same time during World War II.

Marc Gasol has completely overcome any notion that he takes after his brother in terms of soft defense and has started playing a bit like Tyson Chandler. He stays on his feet, being best utilized by just being down low and scaring off close-range shots, only leaving his feet when he's sure to alter it.

Meanwhile, Marreese Speights has gone from being a sure-fire journeyman to the starting power forward for the most dangerous playoff team in the Western Conference.

He has become what Philly always wanted him to be, a guy who works for rebounds on the offensive glass, frustrates his man with his defense and just bangs into guys when they want to come into his paint. 

However, he's become more than just an enforcer, he's really turning into a legitimate threat in the NBA, and that's something you've got to be impressed with.

We've gone through the determination of Marc Gasol and the transformation of Marreese Speights and we haven't even touched on the most interesting big man on the team, but Zach Randolph deserves a slide all to himself.

Zach Randolph's Transformation

In my days of watching the NBA, there's never been a player who was as good as Zach Randolph in spite of his athleticism. He's like a quarterback without a good arm, he's a knuckleballer, he's...he's a guy who succeeds at cricket in an unconventional way.

Zach Randolph's situation is so unique at this point that it's impossible to look at what he's done and be unimpressed.

For years he was a lost cause, a guy with oodles of talent that was outweighed by his bad attitude and his poor work ethic. The public opinion of him was so poor that Memphis was criticized when they traded Quintin Richardson (and only Quintin Richardson) for him.

He was, after all, the fourth former Jail Blazers player to wear a Grizzlies uniform (after Damon Stoudamire, Bonzi Wells and Darius Miles) and he was the biggest head case in the NBA.

However, Randolph completely transformed his attitude and became the Grizzlies best player over the next two years, even looking like the best offensive power forward in basketball during the Grizzlies playoff run last season until Dirk Nowitzki ripped that title away when he won his own title.

Now, after recovering from an injury early on, Memphis has convinced him to come off the bench and he has yet to say a peep wishing otherwise. Who knows if this continues on into the playoffs, but as long as they keep winning, there's no reason to think he'll change his mind.

There's not enough I can say about Zach Randolph changing his game. I was one of his biggest naysayers two years ago, and he's done more than shut me up: he's turned me into a fan.

Those Strange Shooting Guards

When you don't have a superstar shooting guard, the best option seems to be a two-guard by committee attempt, but that can get muddled if it's not done right. Needless to say, they're doing it right in Memphis.

Tony Allen is the most interesting piece, as he's basically the defensive stopper who is sized as a shooting guard, but will guard they're opponent's best player who is under 6'8".

Basically, in a series against Oklahoma City, he's taking down Russell Westbrook, while in a series against the Lakers he's going up against Kobe Bryant.

Meanwhile, he stays on the floor offensively because of his recently added ability to take wise, well-placed shots, turning him into one of the best non-superstar shooting guard options in the league.

Meanwhile, OJ Mayo continues to impress everyone based on the amount of confidence he's had over the course of this year.

Last season, he was one of the biggest names thrown around at the trade deadline, and technically the Grizzlies did have a deal to ship him out, but they failed to alert the league on time, leaving him in Memphis. That may have been the best mistake they've made to date.

Mayo could have Odomed (I move that this become an official word) his way out of Memphis; instead, he took everything like a man and he continued to play his game.

Now he's one of the best irrational-confidence guys in the NBA, scoring 20 points on any given night and begging to take big shots.

Mark my words, more than one playoff game will be swayed one way or another because of an OJ Mayo shot late in a game. The mystery remains in whether it will be for the betterment of the Grizzlies or to their dismay.

Gilbert. Freaking. Arenas.

Popular thought was that Gilbert Arenas was headed for a title contender like the Lakers or Heat after he was amnestied by the Magic before the season started. However, he ended up on a completely different title contender.

When I learned in late March that Gilbert had signed with the Grizzlies, my first thought was that both parties had gotten desperate. However, I'm pretty sure I'm wrong at this point.

Arenas hasn't taken any games over and to his credit, he hasn't tried to. Instead, he's taking the shots that come in the flow of the offense, trying to drive to the rim from time to time and playing his 12 minutes a game to the best of his abilities, leading to a handful of double-digit scoring performances already.

Am I crazy to think that this guy could swing an entire playoff series once he's completely introduced to the Grizzlies and used to the flow of their game?

A Few Final Thoughts

I've talked this team up as high as I possibly can; they have the most entertaining cast of players (except of course Denver, and that's solely based on the fact that they employ JaVale McGee) to offer in the NBA and the most interesting playing style.

However, I'm not going to sit here and pretend they aren't without their flaws. They struggle on the offensive glass, they can't hit many threes and Rudy Gay is a superstar who never quite became a superstar, but they have the mentality to overcome these things.

On any given night they believe that they are the best team on the floor. That and that alone is sometimes the biggest weapon that a team has heading into the playoffs.

All that remains is the fact that I've just spent a good chunk of my day tapping out around 1,500 words on the Memphis Grizzlies, something that I never imagined possible four years ago, mostly because, hey, they're the Grizzlies. The fact that anyone would even take their time to write at length about a team has to say something about them.

While I identify as a Cavs fan by nature, with no team to root for in these playoffs, I can't help but find myself drawn to the Grizzlies, and I can't wait to see if they can legitimately pose a threat to make it to the Western Conference Finals and maybe beyond.

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