Memphis Grizzlies are not far from becoming the powerhouse in the NBA Western Conference (Part-1)
Despite of being reckoned as the underdogs in the 2011 play-offs, Memphis Grizzlies showcased an incredible performance on the big platform which makes it pretty safe to say that the franchise is definitely on the rise.
Finishing the regular season as the eighth best team in the Western Conference, nobody entertained the idea that an eight seeded Memphis Grizzlies will topple the top seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the play-offs
which was considered a better team in every ways. In fact, the series was considered as a lop-sided one taking into account the experience and strength of the Spurs.
However the underdogs Memphis Grizzlies stood confident against all the odds and supplied an absolute shock in the league by eliminating the veteran powers San Antonio Spurs in a record setting fashion. The Grizzlies ripped apart
San Antonio 4-2 in the first round series and became the fourth eighth seeded team in the history of the league to overpower the first seeded in the post-season.
After thrashing San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies’ surprise factor continued in the Western Conference semi-finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder as well as they maintained their toughness to pull through from a triple-overtime
and 27-point loss to take the series into the Game 7.
Unfortunately, Memphis Grizzlies failed to overshadow in the final thrilling game of the best-of-seven series and their magnificent play-off run came to an end.
Considering Memphis Grizzlies tremendous performance at the time when everybody was anticipating an early exit for the franchise, it’s not strange at all to say that Grizzlies is the next inspirational team.
Here are the reasons why Memphis Grizzlies is not far away from becoming the next powerhouse in the Western Conference.
Young Team
Memphis Grizzlies domination came on the back of a young roster whose players are less than 26 years old on an average. Considering the unwavering strength of the team and that their players are far away from reaching to the finals
stages of the career, the Grizzlies will only get better with the passage of time and soon will be considered as the best team in the Western Conference.
A team who has managed to clinch a play-off berth only four times in the franchise history and never won a postseason game before the 2010-2011 seasons, it’s particularly amazing to see how they have transformed themselves in the
last season with a young squad on the whole.
Memphis Grizzlies dynamic power forward Zach Randolph is the most experienced player in the team who joined the squad after the 2008-2009 season. Randolph has still a number of good years left in his career and under his leadership;
the buoyant talent of the Grizzlies will keep on soaring.
Rudy g*y and Marc Gasol are the other two major strength of the young team who showed great improvement in the last season as well. After the rookie season, Rudy g*y has always been a prolific scorer as he took his game to the
next level in the last season as well. Apart earning the reputation of a decent rebounder by clutching a career-high 6.2 boards per game, g*y shooting percentage progressed substantially. Rudy average career-highs in field goal percentage, free throws percentage
and three-point percentage which shows how fast he is developing as a player.
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