NBA Contenders and Pretenders

PRETENDER: Memphis Grizzlies

Hey, remember that tweet on the Raptors’ slide that discusses the top teams’ head-to-head records?

Yeah, that’s the one … Oh God, look who’s there at the bottom! If anyone in the NBA’s Western Conference is set up for an early exit, it’s the Lunch Pail Crew in Memphis.

Without Marc Gasol, the Memphis Grizzlies are a team hopelessly lost in the current climate of the Western Conference, a team lacking the pacing, spacing and reliable offensive options to take on the best teams on their side of the bracket.

With Marc Gasol … the Memphis Grizzlies are still a team hopelessly lost in the current climate of the yadda yadda, etc., you know the rest. Gasol’s likely season-ending injury deprives the Grizz of their best player, but even with him the Grizzlies don’t have the roster makeup to win beyond the first round – if at all.

The team’s weaknesses remain the same – they have average scoring efficiency (102.9 points per 100 possessions), atrocious pacing (95.6 possessions per game), and still struggle to convert buckets at a consistent rate (48.2% effective field goal percentage, tied for 28th), but the biggest concern is with what is generally considered to be one of their strengths. Memphis has done poorly with defensive efficiency (103.4 pts/100 poss), and has slipped in crashing the boards (pulling down 48.6% of rebounds).

This is an obvious recipe for disaster. The Grizzlies might have a secure spot in the playoffs right now, but no other team in the playoffs is in greater need of a total rebuild.

Next: Contender: Cleveland Cavaliers