A team that’s never won a postseason game and is far from a lock to make this year’s playoffs might be hard to take too seriously. But don’t disregard the Memphis Grizzlies.Yes, the same Grizzlies who have long been known as one of the league’s most popular punching bags are now throwing some big blows of their own. To begin the new year, they won by 25 in Phoenix and became the first team to win twice in Portland this season. More recently, they capped a perfect four-game homestand with victories over the Spurs and Suns.
Memphis has finished last in the Southwest Division in four straight years and is barely out of the basement this season, but that’s only because it’s in the NBA’s toughest division _ alongside all three Texas teams and New Orleans. The Grizzlies had entered the second week of January as the league’s only last-place team which wasn’t at least 10 games under .500.
In a tight battle for one of the Western Conference’s final playoff spots, the Grizzlies haven’t claimed one since Pau Gasol led them to three straight postseasons from 2004-06. Those all ended in first-round sweeps, but there certainly is reason to believe the first playoff win in franchise history could happen this year as long as they can creep into the top eight in the West. It appeared the drought would continue this season after a 1-8 start, but coach Lionel Hollins’ team went 12-3 from Dec. 18 - Jan. 18 and Zach Randolph is a big reason why.
That 15-game stretch saw Randolph average 24.5 points and 13.9 rebounds. His off-court troubles appear to be a thing of the past as he’s been a model citizen in Memphis, providing monster numbers as well as leadership for a team full of so much young talent.
The youngsters are doing their part. Of the eight games in which O.J. Mayo has scored at least 25 points, five have come since Christmas, and he buried the game-winner late in a recent victory that ended Memphis’ 11-game losing streak to Utah. Fellow former lottery pick Rudy Gay is averaging career highs in points (20.4), rebounds (6.2) and steals (1.5). Gasol’s 24-year-old younger brother, Marc, has 17 double-doubles.
Hollins has gotten away from the defensive approach employed by Marc Iavaroni, who was fired last January, and the Grizzlies are on pace for the highest-scoring season in franchise history. They’re averaging more than 104 points a game and shooting better than 47 percent from the field to rank among the league leaders in both categories.
Memphis, which entered the new year with only three players older than 24, also appears to be creating quite a home-court advantage, winning a franchise-record nine in a row at FedEx Forum. Games there might get a lot tougher after the All-Star break when the inexperienced Grizzlies potentially have to handle something many of them are unfamiliar with - being in a playoff race.
