Memphis Grizzlies: Ranking NBA Playoff Runs During The Mike Conley, Marc Gasol Era

2014

The Grizzlies were the seven seed in the western conference and they would face off with the Thunder in the opening round. It was a back and forth series, but they would eventually fall on the road in game seven 109-120 to end their season.

Memphis really struggled to contain OKC’s scorers as they allowed at least one 30 point scorer in all seven games. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scoring 30 isn’t a huge deal, but they also allowed Reggie Jackson to score 32 in one of the games.

The Grizzlies were outmanned for much of this series, but they were able to win close games. They won three of the four games that finished within six points. In their four losses, they were outscored by 38 points while in their three wins they only outscored the Thunder by 10.

The big storyline in the series was Zach Randolph being suspended for game seven after an incident with Steven Adams in game six. Many speculate that they would’ve won the series if he wasn’t suspended, but they were down 17 at home when this incident took place so they would’ve needed much better performance to win on the road which would’ve been possible since both teams won two away games in this series.

It was a fun series that didn’t end the way the Grizzlies would’ve liked, but they still were competitive against one of the best teams in the NBA. The tough mindset they showed in this series is something they need to use going forward as they continue on their rebuild to try and get back to the playoffs.