Why we need to show the Memphis Grizzlies some love
Memphis? Weren't they the Vancouver Grizzlies?
Let's just get this out of the way. It's a great time to be an NBA fan. There are so many things to talk about like King James' legacy, OKC's new big three, where Hayward's injury leaves the Celtics, how the Spurs plan to treat Kawhi's peak and how many titles we think Durant and the Dubs will hoard over the next few years.
And those are just the headlines.
Casual chit-chat around the water cooler could also be about just how scary the Greek Freak's potential is, whether Embid stay healthy this year, what next for Porzingis and the NBA's most dysfunctional franchise, if the Brooklyn Nets will ever be relevant, can Jimmy Butler combine with the awesome talents of the KAT and Wiggins and make a deep playoff push with the T'wolves and what the hell is up with the Bledsoe situation down at Phoenix?
Remarkable. The season has barely even started and we already have so many things to discuss.
But we never ever end up talking about the Memphis Grizzlies.
And for that, I am to blame as well... I have never brought up the Memphis Grizzlies in a conversation about Basketball. At first glance, there really seems to be nothing to discuss. There's no great success, nor is there great dysfunction. The last discussion I remember having about the Grizzlies with a fellow fan ended with a "Conley's earning how much now?"
Apart from that blip on the otherwise Memphis free radar, nobody has mentioned them or their players for a while now. It makes sense. They don't suck like the 76ers or the Nets of recent seasons where we can take a dig at the management or roster for a few chuckles.
Nor are they a superteam with a big three or a team loaded with talent for the future.
Rather, what they are is a new, small market franchise with no immediately recognizable superstar (Sorry Marc, I heart you) who may be a part of the playoff picture, but aren't a legitimate threat to any of the serious contenders. And they can't seem to get better.
I have to play where?
And the reason for that is two-fold. One is their aforementioned small market existence. I googled, 'Does Memphis suck?' and this came up as the second result. They simply can't, and I must emphasise the word CANNOT, attract a superstar of note. Why would an Irving or a Bledsoe for that matter, take their talents to a city which has consistently ranked in the bottom ten in attendance over the last seven years? No one in their right minds would trade the bright lights and the allure of great NBA cities like Boston, LA, or even Houston for that matter to go be the first option at the Memphis Grizzlies.
The second reason is that as of right now, they are too good to even consider tanking. Tanking, as the great Sam Hinkie taught us, ensures you lose now to build for a better tomorrow. This great and noble tradition (thanks again for 'The Process' Hinkie) is greatly frowned upon up in Memphis. To the Grizzlies fanbase, they are in the middle of a golden age.
Dig a little deeper and you find that Mike Conley and Marc Gasol are capable of putting up all-star numbers almost every season. Add a plethora of good to great role players like Tyreke Evans, Ben Mclemore and Mario Chalmers (and subtract the ridiculous money they're paying Chandler Parsons, although he's kind of on a roll right now, isn't he?) and you have a team that has most things covered.
In fact, in Conley, you have a leader, the face of the franchise and a floor general who can create his own offense. Not many franchises can boast of that. In Marc, you have a two-way superstar who is constantly improving his game, Mclemore has been unheralded for most of his career and helps create spacing and in Tyreke Evans and Brandan Wright we have two players who can be money off the bench or provide flexibility to the starting lineup. And yes, while this team has lost some of its defensive identity in the last few years, they've really upgraded offensively with the addition of Parsons. This roster is built for the here and now and the here and now is potentially the seventh or eighth seed in the Western Conference. Not something to write home about year after year, but not too shabby either.
I can see clearly now the rain has gone
In fact, being a new franchise and contending so soon in franchise history is a huge deal unto itself. Just ask the Toronto Raptors fanbase how they feel about DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry and the responses will definitely contain the words 'finally', 'relevance' and 'legacy'. For such teams, it's not about the NBA Championship. It's about having special moments on the court to remember, having jerseys to retire a few years later, having all-stars of their own and finally having first-ballot Hall of Famers who will be the pride of the city for generations to come.
Which is why the Memphis Grizzlies are in a good place.
At the time of writing, they sit all by their lonesome atop the Western Conference with a 5-2 record and while it's still early days, this is shaping up to be a team that Houston, OKC, San Antonio and hell, even the Dubs might want to essentially avoid as they represent a first or second round banana skin.
So kudos to you Mike for getting paid. And good on Marc Gasol for developing a deep game so late into his career. And bravo Parsons and Mclemore for believing in yourselves. The band's really getting it's act together in the birthplace of rock n' roll and I for one will be discussing their progress every chance I get.
Now if they could only go out and get Paul George next season. That would really put the cat among the pigeons.That would definitely make us talk about Memphis.