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

2013

The 2013 playoffs were the closest the Grizzlies ever got to reaching the NBA Finals during their run. They started it off in an opening-round series against the Clippers. They got blown out on the road in game one and lost a close one in game two and their chances of making a run were bleak, but then they turned it on over the next couple of weeks.

The Grizzlies core four all had an amazing series which led to them winning four straight to close out the series in six games. Zach Randolph led the way with 20.8 points and 8 rebounds while Mike Conley and Marc Gasol also chipped in, but the play of Tony Allen was crucial just as it was for each of these postseason runs that he was a part of.

Tony Allen is thought of as an elite defender and he was one of the best on-ball defenders in the game at the time as well as potentially one of the best ever, but he also made an impact on the offensive end of the floor. In this series, he averaged 12 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game.

After the series win over the Clippers, they set out to get revenge over the Oklahoma City Thunder. This time it was a very different team though as James Harden was traded away in a deal that brought Kevin Martin to OKC while Russell Westbrook was also unavailable due to injury.

This was a very competitive series for being just five games, but none of the games finished with a scoring margin of more than six which shows how evenly matched the teams were. Kevin Durant had a huge series averaging 28.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists, but the Grizzlies big three was too much for him to overcome.

The Grizzlies core four all played fantastic as well, but the trio of Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, and Zach Randolph on the offensive end was difficult to stop. Conley averaged 18 points, 6.8 assists, and 6.6 rebounds while Gasol averaged 19.4 points and 8.4 rebounds, and Randolph averaged 18.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

These guys had a very good playoff run as they won eight of nine games heading into the Western Conference Finals after winning four straight against the Clippers and winning four out of five against the Thunder. In the Western Conference Finals they matched up with the San Antonio Spurs and it didn’t go well.

The Spurs looked determined to make up for the upset loss in round one against the Grizzlies in 2011 and they made it look easy in this four-game sweep of Memphis. San Antonio defended at a high level as they made it tough on the Grizzlies big three. It did lead to Quincy Pondexter having some good games as he averaged 15.3 points per game in this series.

The play of Tony Parker is what made this series get over so quickly. He averaged 24.5 points and 9.5 assists per game headlined by a 37 point performance to close out the Grizzlies in game four. It was a rough series, but overall it was the most impressive postseason run during this seven-year stretch.

All seven of those postseason appearances helped define the grit-and-grind mentality that this team plays with. As they continue their efforts towards getting back to the playoffs they will keep that mindset while trying to focus more on the fast-paced offense that is today’s NBA.