Grind City Views: Memphis Grizzlies in National Power Rankings (Week 19)
By Jake Finnen
Welcome to Grind City View’s Weekly Power Rankings, Beale Street Bears’ roundup of the where the Memphis Grizzlies fall in national power rankings.
CBS Sports – No. 10
“They swing a big sledgehammer, but the problem is if that’s your only tool and you miss, you’re vulnerable and slow. They’re also notably pretty much the same team they were to start the year, there’s been little evolution for Memphis. That’s good in some ways, bad in others.”
This is a modest yet unfortunately true statement. The Grizzlies roster may be entirely more structured and – well, less random than last year – but one thing has stayed true over the past three years. Who’s going to contribute outside of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol?
They need more depth, length and speed to help with those hustle stats that foundation players like Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol struggle with.
ESPN – No. 11
“The Grizzlies have drained 551 3-pointers already this season after sinking just 504 for the entire 2015-16 campaign. A lot of that obviously stems from Marc Gasol’s increasing reliance on the long ball, as Team Grit ‘n’ Grind continues to evolve under new coach David Fizdale, but suspicion persists that Memphis’ record looks more impressive than it really is. Some support for that case: Our man Micah Adams reports that entering Sunday’s play, Big Spain and Friends had held a lead for only 44 percent of their court time this season, which ranked as the league’s second-lowest figure for a team with a winning record, behind Atlanta’s 42 percent. The Grizz, mind you, promptly went out and showed us what they think of our math by posting a quality win in Denver on Sunday night behind 30 points from Mike Conley. It was Conley’s sixth 30-point outing of the season, which already tops last season’s total of five.”
The Grizzlies did drop a few spots. However, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol have helped the Grizzlies evolve as a more modern time under new coach Dave Fizdale.
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NBA.com – No. 11
“The Grizzlies have been their best in the fourth quarter and have won the fourth in eight straight games. A 24-13 fourth wasn’t enough to come back from a 27-point deficit in Indiana on Friday, but Mike Conley and Marc Gasol’s takeover in the first six minutes of the final period in Denver on Sunday was the difference as they improved to 6-2 on the road over the last month. Gasol had been ice cold from 3-point range (3-for-26 since Feb. 3) before hitting two of his three attempts in the final 10 minutes.”
I mean, Memphis as hovered around this spot all year. Nothing has really changed, but Coach Fizdale might have some tricks up his sleeve for the last stretch of the regular season. Lineup changes are in the future.