The Memphis Grizzlies Are Coming Out Of Hibernation
Back in the offseason, I wrote the post: Memphis or OKC: Who’s Better? As of now, you’d have to give the nod to the Thunder, who are 19-16 (who are also tied for the fifth most road wins in the NBA) and are in the eighth spot in the Western Conference. But as nice as Oklahoma City has been this season, the Grizzlies are honestly not that far behind.
Memphis is currently 17-17 and have won seven of their last 10 games. Before losing to Utah last night, the Grizzlies’ record was above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2005-’06 season. In that run where they won seven of their eight games, the team defeated playoff bound squads like the Nuggets, Suns and Blazers. They are 14-6 when they score over 100 points.
The League rewarded Lionel Hollins for his team’s turnaround by naming him the Western Conference Coach of the Month on Tuesday. Hollins is not the only member of the Grizz who deserves some credit. Zach Randolph has been in beast mode averaging 23.6 ppg and 14.2 rpg (5.6 offensive). No doubt, Z-Bo been playing like an All-Star (although we all know that’s not happening). The team’s other stars, Rudy Gay (20.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and O.J. Mayo (18.2 ppg, 3 apg), have also been having great seasons.
The team is also getting great contributions from Marc Gasol (14.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 1.4 bpg), who has improved tremendously from his rookie season. The Grizzlies’ most unlikely hero has been their second round pick, Sam Young. The rookie out of Pitt, has put together five double figure scoring games in his last seven contests including a pair of 22-point efforts.
The team has come a long way from their disastrous 1-8 start and dealing with the whole Allen Iverson drama. What has been most impressive about the Grizzlies’ resurgence has been the heart they’ve been showing. Most of their key players are currently playing hurt: Conley (shoulder), Mayo (sore hip), Gasol (bruised right elbow) and Gay (ankle). In the game against the Blazers on Tuesday, Randolph – who had microfracture surgery on his knee four seasons ago – slipped and buckled his knee. After finding out the injury wasn’t serious, he returned to the game.
“A lot of guys play through different stuff,” Randolph told The Commercial Appeal. “I’m a soldier. I’m going to play until I can’t walk.”
The Grizzlies have a relatively light schedule for the rest of January. Half of their remaining 12 games of the month are against current non-playoff teams. With eight of those remaining games at home, this is definitely their chance to climb up in the rankings. But even if they have a good January, it’s unlikely they’ll end up with a playoff spot this year. They are making some positive strides though and could realistically fight for a playoff berth next season.
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January 7th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
control says:
I think Zach uses the same motto for when he visits a buffet “I’m going to eat this bitch until I can’t walk”.
January 7th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
the cynic says:
left on a stretcher uh? Don’t think you watched the game. Randolph never left the game, though the play did look pretty brutal
January 7th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Dime Magazine says:
@ the cynic
This is Gerald. Sorry I misread the article. They were talking about Damon Stoudamire. No I didn’t actually see the game
January 7th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Heckler says:
provided both teams (OKC and Memphis) keep their core together, the Grizz have the better future.
They already have bigs; OKC Thunder have a very weak frontline.
and remember….the Grizzlies are playing without (#2 pick) Hasheem Thabeet
January 7th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Heckler says:
they should really dump Mike Conley.
for some reason (valid) I never co-signed on this kid and still dont think he is shit really. another version of chirs duhon at best.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
The person I’m most impressed with is Marc Gasol. A lot of people wrote him off as a throw in for his brother in that Laker trade but he proving a lot of people wrong. If you look at the transformation of his body from last year to this one you can tell this guy has been putting in some major work in the off season. This year he looks a lot more active and more related to his brother Pau.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
jerryc says:
It’ nice to see Mayo’s name somewhere in your article, other than the boxscore. Give him a break. Even the six responses didn’t mention him.
What’s up???
January 7th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Brown says:
Too bad they wasted that #2 pick.
January 7th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Chaos says:
Its nice to see the teams actually seeing their potential….okc needs to play harden more because he may actually be their second best pure scorer and they need to get tougher on the inside…memphis (move them to seattle stil), needs a pg, bottom line. they got conley but he isnt learning the position and he needs a veteran to learn behind. a distributer wuld make the difference. Young is a great addition to the team and was underrated coming out of pitt because he was a four year player.
January 8th, 2010 at 6:55 am
GD says:
awesome article man, the only one realizing the talent of the griz, i might have to start reading this site more
January 8th, 2010 at 7:21 am
Pet Society Help says:
Let’s see what the Iranian can do, put him in coach.
January 8th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
JLOVE73 says:
peeps are really killing me when it comes to.
mike conley. if you a true grizz fan like i im then you know the true potential this young man has especially at the end of the season of last year when hollins took over as coach. man in some of those game he dam near got triple doubles and helped them win some of those games. ohhh but when oj got into a slump there was no talk about getting rid of him. thats what this young man facing right now a slump like everybody else faces in the nba. hollins sticking with him cause he knows the true potential he has in this point guard.its just letting someone who probably never been a true leader and vocal person because of other players needing spotlight thru out high school to nba and is considered as a role player. and that mind set has been with him all of that time. now hollins is showing him the the mindset of how he should control things on the floor instead of you u dribble the ball a couple of times then pass it to the star players. if you look back last 2 year the only people where shooting was rudy,oj,warrick,pau(before trade). all i say is go bac and see what conley has did before & after hollins. minutes and all. you probably say youre a real live conley fan but all im saying is if you get rid of this player isnt goin to really bit you in the ass later. because i see the same potetial that hollins is seeing. yeah what is sessions doin now? what is rubio doing now? WHAT IS A.I. DOING NOW? NOT A DAM THANG!!!!!!!!! go ahead and get rid of him and youll be saying later: dam we had that player but we let him go cause we was to blind to the fact of his true skills and we didnt want to wait on him. hollins put it best: ill rather have a guy struggle now at the start of the season then to start off fast and fall off at the end the season. nuff said. HAVE PATIENCE PEOPLE!!!!!!