Memphis Grizzlies: Top Playoff moments, “the upset”

MEMPHIS, TN - APRIL 23: Zach Randolph #50 of the Memphis Grizzlies hi-fives the fans after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game Three of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2011 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2011 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - APRIL 23: Zach Randolph #50 of the Memphis Grizzlies hi-fives the fans after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game Three of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2011 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2011 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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My favorite Memphis Grizzlies playoff moments concludes with one of the biggest upset the league had seen. The number one San Antonio Spurs get shocked by the eight seeded Grizzlies.

This series I will define with the word “emotion.” The word emotion can be stamped all over this series. I experienced this emotion before game one, and the city experienced the emotion for weeks. It seemed to be raining non-stop. It rained so long that the Mississippi River had flooded and a lot of Memphians had been impacted by that.

Correct me if I am wrong, but when we as humans are going through a lot in our life, we have to escape, right? The floods, personal stress, and for that two and a half hours, the city escaped through a team that believed in it’s city just like the city believed in them.

MEMPHIS, TN – APRIL 29: Zach Randolph #50 of the Memphis Grizzlies celebrates eliminating the San Antonio Spurs in Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2011 NBA Playoffs on April 29, 2011 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.
MEMPHIS, TN – APRIL 29: Zach Randolph #50 of the Memphis Grizzlies celebrates eliminating the San Antonio Spurs in Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2011 NBA Playoffs on April 29, 2011 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. /

A team that did not feel like underdogs in anyway shape or form, just like their city. See, if you live outside of Memphis, just like me, everyone puts this label on the 901, but they’re just like us. The Grizzlies approached that series against the Spurs just like their city would… No backing down.

Every time the Spurs would make a run, guess where this Grizzlies team would go, to their heart in Zach Randolph. I believe that the “Feed50” hashtag was born that playoff series because he left Gregg Popovich scratching his head many times. Just throw it to the those durable hands of Randolph and we were safe. There was a fire behind this team that was not basketball related, but more culture related. See, Randolph said it in the interview above, but this team, the 2011 roster understood the culture of Memphis better than any other team in franchise history. Being underdogs, not having the respect, and having to work 1,000 times harder than the opponent to get that respect.

The Grizzlies won that series against the Spurs in “upsetting” fashion, but maybe they were the better team, and didn’t get enough credit throughout the regular season. I picked this moment to be number one because living 167 miles away during this interview and I had never felt so close to every Grizzlies fan in the world. We were one, and still are, just going through the bumps every team goes through when re-tooling.