The Grizzlies' rise back to the top of the Western Conference and NBA was solidified after their most impressive victory of the season over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night in Boston. The Celtics are the defending champions and have the second-best record in the NBA this season. They have also dominated the season series against the Grizzlies over the last decade, so their matchup on Saturday was the test the Grizzlies needed to see where they stand among the NBA's elite.
The Grizzlies controlled the majority of the game against the Celtics and held off an early fourth-quarter run that relinquished their lead after allowing the Dallas Mavericks to complete their comeback attempt against the Grizzlies earlier in the week. Coming off a 3-1 week that included two road victories, the Grizzlies got the recognition they deserved.
Top five team in the NBA
The Grizzlies ranked ninth in the NBA.com power rankings last week after a six-game winning streak, only rising one spot from the previous week. The reasoning for the small rise was the quality of opponents the Grizzlies were beating during the streak as all wins were against sub-.500 opponents and the majority were at home.
However, with the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, and Boston Celtics on their schedule last week, the Memphis Grizzlies had an opportunity to prove their worth against better-quality competition. They proceeded to take control of the game against the Mavericks before a foul fest fourth quarter allowed a 15-point blown lead and loss.
The Kings took control with a double-digit lead on the Grizzlies' in their following game before the bench led a comeback victory despite the ejection of Ja Morant early in the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies then pulled off back-to-back victories on the road at Boston and Washington to rise to the top five of this week's power rankings.
Now, winners of 9 out of their last 10 games with the signature win at the Boston Celtics, the Grizzlies earned the respect of the power rankings voters to crack the top five. Their takeaways included the Grizzlies being the only team that ranks in the top seven in both offense and defense. Also, they are the only team that ranks in the top five in both field goal percentage in the paint and the percentage of their shots they attempt in the paint.
The paint-scoring dominance has helped the Grizzlies become a top 10 team in the league in free throw rate as well. The only teams that rank above the Grizzlies are two of their opponents from last week, Boston (second) and Dallas (fourth), along with the Oklahoma City Thunder (third) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (first).