Marc Gasol's Return Keeps Grizzlies' Window for Title Contention Wide-Open
Sorry, fellow NBA elites: The bruising, battle-tested, grit-and-grind Memphis Grizzlies aren't leaving the championship race any time soon.
Not with their primary key to contention, Marc Gasol, set to reprise his role as their All-Star interior anchor.
To no one's surprise, the 7'1" center tied his future to the only NBA home he's ever known. Gasol agreed to a five-year deal worth $110 million, with a player option after the fourth year, as reported by ESPN.com's Marc Stein on Monday.
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That's great news for the Grizzlies and an expected-but-still-painful gut punch to everyone else.
It's not that Memphis is unbeatable; this franchise only has four playoff series wins in its entire 20-year history.
It's that nothing about playing the Grizzlies is fun.
Not the physical punishment doled out on a nightly basis by their throwback, two-headed monster on the low block: Gasol and Zach Randolph. Not the mental battle of trying to solve one of the league's premier defensive puzzles. And certainly not the soul-searching journeys that take place every time this team drags an opponent into the mud.
The NBA champion Golden State Warriors seemed unstoppable for the majority of the 2014-15 campaign. Reeling off a franchise-record 67 wins and registering only the eighth double-digit point differential in NBA history tends to have that effect.
But once the Warriors waged war with the Grizzlies in the Western Conference semifinals, the Dubs looked uncharacteristically vulnerable. Memphis snatched two of the first three outings, dictating the terms of engagement by masterfully controlling the pace and bludgeoning Golden State's bigs underneath.
The performance should have shocked the basketball world. But given the Grizzlies' recent history, it felt surprisingly natural.
"This is what Memphis does to the elite of the NBA, year after year," SB Nation's Tom Ziller wrote after the Grizzlies' 99-89 Game 3 win. "The Grizzlies pull them down into the dirt and see if they can crawl away. If they do, they leave with some bruises. If they don't, the Grizzlies will earn the right to beat up on another pretty team."
The shorthanded Grizzlies eventually ran out of steam and never won another game in that series. But the fact they were able to trade blows with a deeper, healthier NBA heavyweight proved (again) how dangerous this Memphis team really is.
Since their eye-opening first-round upset of the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in 2011, the Grizzlies have cemented themselves as legitimate contenders. They are one of only five teams with at least 200 wins since the start of the 2011-12 season (202, against 110 losses), and have finished each of the past four campaigns near the top of the standings.
| 2014-15 | 55 | T-5 | 103.1 | 13 | 99.9 | 4 | 3.1 | 11 |
| 2013-14 | 50 | 9 | 103.3 | T-16 | 102.1 | T-7 | 1.2 | 14 |
| 2012-13 | 56 | T-5 | 101.7 | 18 | 97.4 | 2 | 4.2 | 8 |
| 2011-12 | 41 | T-6 | 101.0 | T-20 | 98.9 | 7 | 2.1 | 12 |
A couple of things probably jump out from that table above.
First, the Grizzlies are better than many realize. Even those who respect them as title threats may be surprised to see they have tied for at least the sixth-most victories league-wide in three of the last four seasons.
Second, the difference in the rankings of their wins total and net efficiency rating is pretty jarring. To make a long story short, they don't have much margin for error, because they aren't an elite offensive team.
There are only so many points to squeeze out of post-up plays. To wit, the top five teams in offensive efficiency all used post-ups on no more than 8.4 percent of their possessions last season. The Grizzlies ran those plays 14.4 percent of the time, which easily led the league.
That might seem counterintuitive given the NBA's move away from back-to-the-basket offense for more pace-and-space attacks. But the Grizzlies are simply playing the best cards in their hand.
"It's not that they aren't savvy analytically... but instead they've built on the strengths of their roster," wrote The Cauldron's Taylor Armosino. "Instead of jacking up threes, which wouldn't fit their personnel, the Grizzlies attack the low post, hit the offensive glass and let Gasol facilitate the offense from the elbows."
That style isn't for everyone, but the results speak for themselves.
As good as the Grizzlies have been, their best basketball could still be in front of them.
This past season was Gasol's first as a full-fledged focal point of the offense. He used a career-high 24.6 percent of the Grizzlies' possessions while he was on the floor, and the stat sheet says he made the most of them. Not only did he post personal bests in points (17.4 per game) and player efficiency rating (21.7), but Memphis also performed like a top-10 offense when he was on the floor (105.3 points per 100 possessions).
Gasol can overwhelm opponents with brute force or shake defenders with finesse. He is a comfortable shooter out to the mid-range and one of the best passing bigs in the business. He has, as Dirk Nowitzkti told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck, "no weaknesses."
Memphis might not run the most potent offense, but a Gasol-centered attack is still a difficult one to defend.
"We used to be able to game-plan much easier for the Grizzlies when Marc wasn't so involved. Load up against one or two guys," a Western Conference assistant coach told CBS Sports' Zach Harper. "Now they have the depth and weapons to spread you out. Give Marc weapons and the ball, and we still don't have a great plan for limiting his talents."
Containing Gasol is only the first step in slowing down Memphis.
Randolph is equal parts brawler, bulldozer and ballerina on the low block. When sheer force and hard work aren't enough, he'll use fantastic footwork and a pillow-soft shooting touch to get the job done.
"Zach can get a double-double with one leg and with one arm," former Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay said in 2012, via Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal. "... He's tenacious out there, and he's going to make sure that his presence is felt."
Even though Randolph turns 34 later this month, his fundamentally sound game should age gracefully.
But the player who could have the biggest part in elevating the Grizzlies' ceiling doesn't play in the frontcourt. That job likely on the shoulders of 27-year-old point guard Mike Conley, a former No. 4 pick who seemingly raises his stock every season.
"He's just getting better and better," Randolph said of Conley, via Grantland's Jonathan Abrams. "We're talking about every aspect: leader, vocal, shooting."
Conley doesn't have as big an offensive workload as some of his positional peers, so his modest per-game marks (15.8 points, 5.4 assists) often keep him out of the national spotlight. But he's an exceptional two-way talent.
"His fingerprints are all over the Grizzlies," wrote SB Nation's Mike Prada. "... Many top point guards are stars because they can do everything. Conley is a star because he could do everything, yet only does what's necessary."
If the Grizzlies need Conley to start carrying more of the weight, he looks more than ready to do so.
Those are the three central figures to Memphis' success, but the rest of this roster can all help in different ways.
The Grizzlies have a lockdown defender in Tony Allen, and possibly a second in the recently acquired Matt Barnes. Courtney Lee is a solid three-and-D wing, Jeff Green could pack a mean scoring punch if he finds the rhythm that eluded him last season and sophomore guard Jordan Adams might add to their perimeter depth if he can force his way into the rotation.
Lanky, athletic big man Brandan Wright reportedly agreed to a three-year, $18 million pact with Memphis, as league sources told Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. Wright's quickness and above-the-rim play should allow him to share the floor with either of Memphis' frontcourt starters. The Grizzlies could get longer and more athletic if they find minutes for rookies Jarell Martin and Andrew Harrison.
The reinforcements appear to be in place to support a lengthy playoff run. More importantly, the key cog is officially there to lead it.
It shouldn't take long for Gasol's Grizzlies to find their way back into opponents' nightmares. They're strong, well-seasoned and pesky as ever. With the big guy in his prime, Conley entering his and some intriguing young pieces behind them, the Grizzlies could be a force for years to come.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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