Will the Memphis Grizzlies Make the NBA Finals?
The NBA regular season is rattling towards its end right now but there is still a fair old whack that stands to be decided. One of those things is the fate that awaits the Memphis Grizzlies.
Here we are focusing on that very subject as we assess whether or not the Grizzlies will make the NBA playoffs. Let’s get started.
The season so far
Before delving into what is to come, we thought we’d start at the beginning by looking at how the team has performed to date. The Memphis Grizzlies have actually been incredibly surprising so far this campaign. Last year they were a fringe side and now they’ve gone from that side on the periphery of the playoffs to a full-blown Western Conference contender; that’s all in the matter of just a solitary season.
On top of that, Taylor Jenkins’ men hold the second-best record in the conference after barely passing the Golden State Warriors recently. Their wild success throughout the first three quarters of the year has a lot of fans wondering how good they really are.
Is this a team that could legitimately become favorites in the NBA finals odds and contenders for a ring? Or are they just a regular-season team that will fall over in the first round of the postseason?
What needs to happen?
The competition
Right, the crux of the matter is that for the Grizzlies to make it into the NBA Finals they will have to battle through a lot of other very strong teams. The first of those key contenders that comes to mind is the Phoenix Suns. When they are all fit and healthy Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and, just generally, the Sun’s deep roster has so much offensive firepower. Memphis meanwhile tends to play fast and loose so it is hard to say for sure that they are a better team than the Suns. That said, you could probably argue they are based on what we’ve seen on the court this season.
The next team to mention would be the Golden State Warriors. At the moment, the Grizzlies look like the better outfit. Of course, there is a fairly big caveat to that which is the fact that Klay Thompson has yet to hit his rhythm. What the Warriors do have that Memphis doesn’t is Steph Curry; he is always a danger to explode for 50 points in any given game.
On top of those two basketballing superpowers, you have a few other sleeper teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. If the stars align for those teams in respect of fitness and form then they could easily come and compete with the Grizzlies.
Can the Grizzlies do it?
If we’re being honest, you would say that this is genuinely a year that the Grizzlies could make it into the NBA Finals. The trouble is, few neutrals would be backing them to actually get the job done because in no way is it a banker. There is so much talent in the conference and, quite frankly, the Grizzlies don’t have much playoff experience in their ranks.
If there is some doubt in the camp though, they might be able to learn a lesson from another American sport; if Memphis come out and dominate their first-round playoff opponents then there is definitely a chance for them to put together a playoff run like the Cincinnati Bengals just did in the NFL. The other thing the Grizzlies have that isn’t too dissimilar from the Bengals setup is a superstar leader. For Cincinnati it was Joe Burrow but that’s not why we’re here. Over in Memphis the man on the spot is Ja Morant.
The key men
Morant is a completely different type of leader and player than he was in years past. He has rallied this team around him and they want to play for him. Morant is averaging 27.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game on the year. To dive a little deeper for a second, he averages the seventh most points per game in the league and the 15th most assists per game; that’s pretty damn impressive.
We also have to find a spot to mention the vastly improved Desmond Bane. Bane went from an average role player to suddenly a second option on a contending team. He launched his averages up to 17.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game and is way more than just a role player now. These two guys are large factors in the Grizzlies success. They can take this squad further than anybody expected during the offseason and make a lot of bettors a great sum of money for believing in them. If they are both firing on all cylinders then who knows where the ceiling is for this side.