BOSTON -- Marc Gasol said he only had a few minutes, which was fine because he needed less than two to say everything that needed to be said about the 2014-15 Memphis Grizzlies, a team in the midst of both the finest season in franchise history and a late-season malaise that hints at all of their worst nightmares.
"We understand," Gasol said. "We know. We’ve been together for a while now and the window is right now. We’re in our prime. Our maturity level and our talent are both balanced. We’re at a point where we have to do it. Of course, nothing guarantees you making it all the way. Work ethic and consistency, we believe, that gives you a lot of chances more than anything else."
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We can go on here and talk about the simple, yet age-old quandary the Grizzlies must solve in order to get through the treacherous Western Conference.
"Got to make shots," coach Dave Joerger says. "We have got to make shots. That’s where our money is."
Or, we can dive into what has been a very different set of dynamics for a team that has occupied one of the top two spots in the Western Conference all season long thanks to a 17-2 start to the season. That was in stark contrast to last year’s grueling struggle to secure the eighth spot in the West and a major point of emphasis in training camp.
"We’ve had a different outlook on the season," point guard Mike Conley says. "We’ve been the 2, 3 seed so we haven’t had to fight our way back in. So now we’re dealing with the positive comments and people saying the Grizzlies are a good team. That’s a whole different animal for us."
We should probably take a moment to talk about why that high seed might not even matter in the West where Oklahoma City (probably) and San Antonio (definitely) are lurking in the lower half of the bracket.
"I really like our team. A lot," Joerger says. "I don’t know that seeding matters this year. When San Antonio is healthy and Oklahoma City is healthy, they’re the two best teams in the NBA. What Golden State has done is fantastic. It’s awesome. Oklahoma City and San Antonio are six and eight, seven and eight depending on the day. Certainly the higher seed has an opportunity to play a Game 7 at home, but it’s going to be wide open, I think."
But really, when we talk about the Memphis Grizzlies, we’re talking about a core of players who have been together for more than half a decade. They have thrilling upsets and a stirring run to the conference finals among their achievements, and they also have the sting of three Game 7 losses in the back of their minds.
They have stayed together far longer than other comparable groups because A) they fit so well together and B) you got any better ideas? Assuming Gasol re-signs in the offseason, they should be intact for a few more years, as well. But they may never have a better chance than right now.
"Yeah," Conley says. "We talk about it. Here and now. Here, now, is what we want. We can’t wait for the future. We’re seven, eight years into this thing. We’ve got to go for it and that’s what we’re going to do."
Taken individually, the Grizzlies’ core of Conley, Randolph, Gasol and Tony Allen is easily identifiable, yet rarely appreciated outside of Memphis. Taken together they buck almost every modern trend to form the backbone of the league’s most idiosyncratic team.
Gasol is a superstar, albeit a very specific kind of superstar. Z-Bo is the personification of Memphis, and fittingly has only one third-team All-NBA nod in his career profile. T.A. is the cult figure on the most cultish of teams. Conley has never even been an All-Star, and is known mainly for being the league’s most underrated player.
"Not underrated in my book," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "Even when he was in college and helped lead his team to the national championship game, even when he was the fourth pick in the draft, when people talked about his team he was never the first name mentioned. He always had complete control of every game I’ve ever watched. He’s always been OK with just being a really good basketball player that wins. Somehow, for whatever reason, people haven’t talked about him as much."
They’re talking now, only the pleasant vibe from earlier this season has turned rough and ragged. The Grizzlies have been mired in a second-half slog that has turned their grit n’ grind persona into sludge. They have developed a maddening tendency to play down to their competition, as evidenced by losses to Minnesota and Sacramento; as well as a recent setback in Boston that had Randolph venting, Gasol seething and Conley heading out the door in a walking boot.
It was only 48 hours earlier when they went into Chicago and beat the Bulls, which they hoped would be a turning point. On Thursday, the core four rested entirely and the Grizz were blown out in Washington. They salvaged the week with a satisfying win over Milwaukee on Saturday, which has been more or less their pattern for the last month.
"We’re just trying to find a consistent performance and focus," Joerger said after shootaround before the Celtics’ game. "Even within games we’re not having 48 minutes of consistent focus. That carries from game to game. We’ll play well one night and play poorly the next night. It’s frustrating."
Yet, ask around the league and a different theme emerges. People are still wary of the Grizzlies. Not wary in the "Team we’d rather not have to play" sense, although there is a lot of that. No one wants to have to deal with that defense or the Grindhouse in the postseason. That’s a given.
Some of it has to do with a general reluctance to anoint the Golden State Warriors as the favorite, even though they are. No other team can touch Golden State’s record or standing as a top-three offense and defense. Yet, many wonder if the Warriors will be able to play their up-tempo style in the postseason when things slow down appreciably and space becomes limited. (This also applies to the Hawks, who do not have to deal with the postseason gauntlet that Golden State faces.)
Beyond the Warriors, there is no obvious answer to the favorite question. Ask a half-dozen people to pick a Western Conference sleeper and you’re likely to get a half-dozen different responses. Still, almost everyone makes room for the Grizzlies in the conversation.
A lot of this has to do with how Memphis has played against tougher competition. They are 14-6 against the seven other likely playoff teams and own a win over Golden State in their only meeting thus far, which snapped the Warriors’ 16-game winning streak. Caveats abound: It was mid-December, the Warriors were on the end of a road trip and Andrew Bogut didn’t play. The game also featured a 20-0 Memphis run to start the second quarter and a vintage Vince Carter performance.
The flipside to all that is Carter hasn’t had many nights like that this season and he is slowly working his way back into a lineup that now includes Jeff Green, who was acquired from the Celtics for Tayshaun Prince, Quincy Pondexter and a first-round pick. It was an all-in move for a team with little room for roster maneuvering.
Things began promisingly as the Grizz won 13 of their first 15 games with Green in the lineup. Lately, however, the Grizz have been stuck in the mud, winning just four of their last 10 heading into the weekend. Just as their strong play wasn’t directly attributable to Green’s arrival, neither has their swoon been all his fault.
As has been the case throughout his career, Green has had big games balanced by lesser outings. Through 28 games and more than 800 minutes, his on-court impact has been slightly negative. The starting lineup with Tony Allen has been far more effective, but years of postseason history tell us that the Grizz desperately needed another scoring threat to help ease the inevitable double-teams on Gasol and Randolph.
Joerger and the Grizzlies have the luxury of second-half experimentation because the core played so well in the first half of the season. He vigorously defended Green in Washington, telling reporters the forward was "the least of their problems" and advising people to look more closely at the numbers.
They reveal a starter-wide malaise that includes but is not limited to Gasol’s lack of aggressiveness, Conley’s myriad injuries (ankles, neck, elbow) and Courtney Lee’s dramatic shooting decline. It’s been their revamped second unit that has kept them in games, which is a decidedly positive revelation.
There is still time to get it back together. Eight of their next dozen games are at home with showdown dates against Portland, Cleveland, San Antonio, the Clippers and Golden State (twice) to get their minds right before the playoffs start.
"To be honest, we haven’t played our best basketball yet," Conley says. "We’ve had an unbelievable season, made a lot of strides, but we understand that we have a long way to go."
The ListConsumable NBA thoughts
Jeff Green isn’t the only supporting player who will be heavily scrutinized this postseason. Here are five who will be watched closely.
Arron Afflalo: The veteran 3-and-D man arrived in Portland after a deadline deal from Denver, to provide depth and shooting for the well-oiled Blazer machine. Then Wes Matthews got hurt, which cost Portland not only its starting wing guard but also its heart and soul. Afflalo has not found his stride in PDX yet, or his shooting form. But if he can knock down open threes and defend like he has in the past, he will suddenly become a very important player.
Al-Farouq Aminu: The well-traveled Aminu doesn’t score a lot and isn’t much a playmaker, but he’s a terrific rebounder and when he’s on the court the Mavericks are much better defensively than when he’s on the bench. In certain spots and in specific matchups he can guard wings and smaller post players, which makes him a unique weapon for Rick Carlisle’s matchup-heavy rotations. The question is how much can Carlisle afford to play Aminu if the Mavs’ offense continues to sputter.
Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas: I’m cheating a bit by including a duo, but with the health of Rockets’ center Dwight Howard in question, it’s best to come up with solutions in bulk. Motiejunas has come into his own as a starting big this season where he’s doubled his per-game averages to about 12 points and 6 rebounds per contest. Jones has battled his own back issues this season, but when he’s played he’s provided an efficient, athletic option mix along with strong defense for the frontline. Even when Howard is able to play again, the Rockets have far more on hand than just their two superstars.
Nikola Mirotic: On first glance, Mirotic has had a decent rookie season. He’s averaging 8.6 points and almost 5 rebounds coming off the bench for a deep and experienced Bulls team. And then you look at the last 10 games where Mirotic has averaged 17 and 8 for a team that’s missing four of its top players. We have no idea what kind of team the Bulls will have in April or how healthy they’ll all be. But we do know they’ll have Mirotic, who could be the skilled four they’ve needed these many years.
Mike Scott: Best known for his creative use of both emojis and tats, Scott has been an integral part of Mike Budenholzer’s rotation all season. A fractured toe will keep him out of the lineup, but Scott has made 40 percent of his threes and he has a little bit more to his game than simply catch-and-shoot big man. If things go well, the Hawks won’t need much from their bench this postseason, but they will need some scoring punch. Scott, along with quicksilver guard Dennis Schroder, will need to produce.
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Say WhatRamblings of NBA players, coaches and GMs
"Smoothing would have avoided a substantial Salary Cap spike in 2016-17. Under the league's smoothing approach, the salary shortfall resulting from more gradual Cap increases would have been paid directly to the Players Association for distribution to all players, and thus the total compensation paid to players in any given season would not have been impacted."-- NBA executive vice president of communications Mike Bass.
Reaction: To this point, the tone of conversations between the league and players’ union has been one of distant saber-rattling. This move is the first substantive evidence we have that the union intends to push back all the way to the next day of reckoning. It also represents a stark line of delineation from the Billy Hunter regime, who created a huge economic middle class for players, while sharply limiting superstar salaries.
"We look at the defense and just do what feels right. Other teams will call out ‘Thumb four!’ and we know exactly what they’re going to do. No one knows what we’re going to do because we don’t even know ourselves. It’s like controlled pickup."-- Atlanta guard Jeff Teague.
Reaction: Remember this quote when people talk about how fundamentally sound the Hawks are this postseason. They are, but their genius lies not in set plays, but in their ability to play freely within a system that calls for precision, skill and timing. That’s pro basketball at its finest.
"For me, it's not through the draft, because lottery picks are living a life of misery. That season is miserable. And if you do three or four years in a row to get lottery picks, then I'm in an insane asylum. And the fans will be, too. So who wants to do that?"-- Pat Riley, offering up one of the many gems in Ethan Skolnick’s terrific piece.
Reaction: There aren’t many executives out there who have the courage to share Riley’s go-for-it-now approach. Of course, there aren’t many with his job security, either. What separates Riles from the other quick-fix artists isn’t just that he goes after the big names, but that he delivers. One wonders, however, if his latest gambits will prove unduly reckless in the long term.
"It's ludicrous to assert that we would trade Kevin Durant. There's no way to measure what he represents for our organization on and off the floor. He has helped build this organization from the ground up and personifies the Thunder; past, present and future. When he's done playing, streets will be named after him throughout the state and younger generations of Oklahoman will learn about the role Kevin has played in elevating this community in ways beyond basketball."-- OKC general manager Sam Presti.
Reaction: THERE WILL BE STREETS NAMED AFTER HIM! (Is that a violation of the CBA?)
"It was perfect. Just as it hit the net, the clock hit zero and the backboard lit up as if to say, ‘Yeah, dude just hit that.’ I couldn’t have timed it more perfectly."-- Isaiah Thomas on his game-winning shot in the 2011 Pac-10 championship game.
Reaction: Whatever it is that makes players want those moments, be it heart, courage or confidence, Isaiah Thomas has it.
Vine Of The Weekfurther explanation unnecessary
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