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Overall
Win/Loss Record : 45-37, third place Southwest Division
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Last Season’s Rank
10
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Projected 2013/2014
Finish
1
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Last Season’s Team Statistics and League Rank
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Returning
Individual Statistical Leaders
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Projected
Starters Based on Talent, Tenure, and Potential Impact:
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Second Unit Roster Order Ranked on Talent, Tenure, and Potential Impact:
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Analysis:
This may come to a shock to many naming the the Houston Rockets as the top team going into the NBA regular season, but upon looking at all the ingredients they have in their roster, they have the perfect recipe to not only finish with the best record but also possibly represent the Western Conference in next year's NBA Finals. They started in the off season strongly by snagging the top player in the free agent market in Dwight Howard, who many can argue is the top center in the NBA today, and pairing him with the top shooting guard in the league in James Harden, give the Rockets a fierce inside/outside tandem that rival anyone in the league. Add a rather solid supporting cast of up and coming swing man Chandler Parsons, a rim protecting rebounding monster in Omer Asik and one of the league best known underdog stories, Jeremy Lin, the Rockets have arguably one of the league's best starting rotations. Both Asik and Howard, based on their numbers last season, combined have the potential to give the Rockets an average of 30 points, 28 rebounds and nearly five blocked shots per game. As for the perimeter tandem of Lin, Harden and Parsons, you are talking about a potential offensive output of 55 points and 15 assists per game--and those are just conservative number and they can be far higher upon opening tip off. Along with a devastatingly powerful starting five, the Rockets also boast one of the biggest and strongest rosters in the league with five extremely talented players who range from 6' 9" to 7'1" and a bevy of options from the perimeter which can make any opposing coach green with envy. Behind Howard and Asik are two surprisingly talented big men who would otherwise start in the NBA in 6' 10" 250lb Greg Smith and 7' 1" Donatas Montiejunas along with a gifted swing man who could possibly play both the three and four spots in 6' 9" 250lb Terrence Jones. Last season, Smith was one of the surprises on the team as he came of the bench to give the team 6 points, 5 rebounds per game while shooting .620 from the field and did it in under 16 minutes per game. Montiejunas also showed plenty of promise as well in his rookie season as he played in 44 games, starting in 14 of them while averaging five points and 2 rebounds in just 12 minutes per game; however, what was even more impressive was his two game stint in the NBA D-League where he scored 31 and 17 points along with 8 and 11 rebounds respectively. As for Jones, although he did not play much last season, coming out of college many had likened him because of his size, strength, basketball skills and acumen to superstar +LeBron James and given a chance, he might prove to be quite a sleeper this upcoming season. Perimeter wise, the Rockets are just simply stacked with a wealth of shooters along with apt perimeter defenders that can given any opponent cause to second guess themselves on both the offensive and defensive ends. Patrick Beverley returns to the lineup after having a rather respectable season backing up Jeremy Lin averaging five points and three assists per game in 17 minutes of playing time as well as Francisco Garcia, who also provided a solid perimeter presence off the bench averaging five points while shooting a respectable .367 from beyond the arc. The Rockets also added during the off season three additional players in help bolster the back court even further by adding more shooting and defensive toughness bringing in defensive stoppers Ronnie Brewer and Omri Casspi along with shooters Aaron Brooks and Reggie Williams to provide additional scoring punch. Most Rockets fans will remember Brooks as he was originally drafted by Houston in 2008 and had a breakout season where he posted a career high 19.6 points per game which earned him the award for Most Improved Player in 2010; however, since then he has been less than spectacular as his numbers to a drastic dive over the next the next three years. Nonetheless, despite the downturn in his career, brook still gives the Rockets an additional scoring option if needed and may even usurp Beverly as Jeremy Lin's backup if he is not careful. Altogether the Rockets are hands down the most talented and powerful NBA in the coming season who have the potential to not only lead the league in wins, but also most if not every statistical category as well such as scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and field goal percentage. Unfortunately the question remains on whether they can truly fulfill that potential with the current coaching staff who may rank high in terms of reputation, but low when it comes to results. Over his two season as Rockets head coach, Kevin McHale's performance can bee characterized as ranging between marginal to mediocre at best with the Rockets barely surpassing .500 his first season and just capable of scraping by to earn their first playoff appearance in four years. With the team he has, it is impossible to think that McHale would not only be able to lead such a team to not only the playoffs, but also may earn himself coach of the year honors by season's end. Unfortunately in his final season as head coach, it is doubtful that McHale will return as the Rockets may choose to part ways with him in favor of a championship caliber coach such as Phil Jackson or even Larry Brown. More than likely, unless the Rockets manage to not only reach the Finals, but also win its third NBA title since 1995, it is doubtful that McHale will return to the coaching chair at season's end, no matter how well his team plays. He is simply just keeping that seat warm for the next guy as the Rockets have the necessary pieces to entice the legendary Phil Jackson to come out of retirement and bring his third team to another three NBA championship trophies. If not Phil Jackson, then they can possibly go another route and pry Larry Brown away from the NCAA who will bring an old school approach to the his strict disciplined style that has brought him to the NBA Finals three times, an NBA Championship ring, and countless accolades to say the least. Regardless of what may happen in the future, one thing remains clear and that after nearly 19 years of patiently waiting, Houston Rockets fans have finally something to really cheer about as their team has finally returned to the spotlight once again. If it does not happen this season, then possibly next season or the one after that as Houston not only have the makings of a championship team, but another potential dynasty on their hands. |
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Showing posts with label number 1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label number 1. Show all posts
Monday, November 18, 2013
SDH's 2013/2014 NBA Worst to First Previews and Predictions: 1. Houston Rockets
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
SDH Presents the 2013 End of Season NBA's Worst to First: 1. San Antonio Spurs
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At
Season’s End:
1
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Taking a Look Back at the Season that Once Was . . .
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SDH Player of the Year:
Kawhi Leonard 
Had the San Antonio Spurs won this year's NBA Finals, the Most Value Player certainly would not have been either Tony Parker or Tim Duncan. On the contrary, it would have been given to a player who was only in his second year in the league, but also in his first NBA Finals as well. In that seven game series against the Miami Heat, Kawhi Leonard went from just a mere role player to a potential NBA all star as he averaged 15 points, 11 boards and two steals per game. His best effort came in the Spurs' heartbreaking game six loss to the Heat when he posted 22 points and 11 boards while shooting .643 from the field. Had the Spurs pulled through in that game, they would have certainly had to credit that hard fought championship win to Kawhi Leonard's heroic performonce; nonetheless, despite losing that game and the series, Leonard will certainly be a player to keep an eye on next season for sure.
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Analysis:
After two disappointing playoff trips which saw them lose embarrassingly in the first round to an eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies followed by a sad finish in the Conference Finals blowing a two games to none lead and fall to the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games, it seemed as if the San Antonio's window of opportunity had all but closed. Despite finishing with the league's third best regular season record, many had given up any idea of the Spurs even returning to the NBA Finals let alone bringing home their fifth Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy anytime soon. Once the official playoff bracket had been set, many had expected history to once again repeat itself watching the San Antonio Spurs once again finish strong in the regular season to simply come up short once they arrived in the post season. It had been a whole six years since the Spurs had advanced to the NBA Finals where they would win their last championship and after one disappointing playoff performance after another, it had become pretty clear that time had finally run out on this once unbeatable team. That was until the 2013 Playoffs where the Spurs not only silenced their critics and dumbfounded their doubters, but also proved that not only the window had not closed on their championship aspirations, but it will remain open for potentially years to come.
First came the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that also failed to live up to enormous hype exorbitant expectations put upon them as they scratching their way to take one of the final open playoff berths in the Western Conference; however, despite their disappointing regular season finish, some actually saw the Lakers possibly upsetting the Spurs in the first round. Even without their star player Kobe Bryant, many still saw the Lakers as a dark horse to pull off the first round upset as they not only matched up well with San Antonio in terms of size and age of their respective roster but also that history was squarely not on the Spurs' side. All of that did not matter as the Spurs simply decimated Lakers easily sweeping them in four games making those who had envisioned an upset victory by LA, one of which being former Laker great and television announcer Earvin Magic Johnson, look like complete and utter fools. Regardless even with the big first round win, many still shrugged it off saying the Spurs would probably screw it up eventually and fall in the second where they faced the upstart Golden State Warriors. And unlike the Lakers the Warriors not only had the tools to possibly upset the second seeded San Antonio Spurs along with the supernatural help of the powers that be that brought them to that miraculous regular season run. The Warriors continued that miraculous run by giving the Spurs their toughest battle thus far in the playoffs as the matched San Antonio point for point and game for game; however, San Antonio would take the edge winning game five and finishing Golden State in six games. Now the Spurs would face a team that not embarrassed them two years ago, but also taken down the Pacific Division leading Los Angeles Clippers and the West's top team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Many expected an all out battle that would stretch out to all seven games in the Western Conference rematch against the Spurs and Grizzlies as Memphis had so much to gain while San Antonio had so much to lose; unfortunately, it would not turn out to be the back street brawl as everyone had eagerly anticipated as the Spurs made short work of the Memphis Grizzlies sweeping them four games to none. In fact the series ended so quickly that many had thought it had not happened yet and it seemed almost unfathomable that a team like Memphis, who took down two of the best teams in the Western Conference would fall so easily. Thus after a five year long absence, the Spurs, who many had given up on the idea of them being a championship contender, would finally return to the NBA Finals once again as they would face the incumbent champion Miami Heat and it would be a battle of the ages. In what can be considered as the one of the greatest NBA Finals of all time, the Spurs went blow for flow against Miami as the would take a game from each others' home court; however, a game five win at home would put San Antonio three games to two against the Heat and they looked to finish them of in Miami. It almost looked as of the Spurs would go five for five in NBA Finals wins--they had led Miami by five points with just thirty seconds left in regulation; surprisingly however, Miami would overcome that hurdle to tie the game and bring it to overtime. The game would go through two overtime periods before Miami was able to claim the game six victory thus tying the series at three games apiece leading to the deciding seventh game in the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, despite their strongest and most valuable efforts, it would be the Spurs who would eventually fall as Miami managed to drag themselves away to their second straight NBA championship in three years. Despite losing the Finals, the Spurs can be seen as the true victor as they had silenced all their doubters and skeptics who believed that they were too old and no longer had what it took to become a champion. They spent the playoffs categorized as complete underdogs from the very start and many did not have them even advancing past the first round let alone making it to a position of winning their fifth NBA Title in fifteen years. During that seven game brawl that the entire basketball watching world had the pleasure and honor of witnessing, the Spurs not only shocked the world by nearly swiping the O'Brien trophy from under the Heat's nose but also shook the player who nobody thought could be shaken--namely the Man of Steel himself, Lebron James. Now Spurs fans can hold solace in the fact that not only their team is still relevant once again, but they will also remain in discussions of who will be NBA Champions for years to come. With an emerging young core of players to complement the already solid veteran foundation, the Spurs will certainly be a team to watch out for a very long time, and it is quite possible that another NBA title will be returning to San Antonio sooner rather than later. |
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Thursday, May 23, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for January and and February: 1. San Antonio Spurs
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Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of February 28th): 45-14 (first place, Southwest
Division)
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3
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This Month:
1
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Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of February 28th)
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Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of February 28th)
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Worst Player
of the Month: Manu Ginobli
 It is sad to say, but it seems as if Manu Ginobli has outlived his usefullness. At 35 years of age, he has lost much of the explosiveness that he had been reputed of having and his numerous injuries have kept him out of action for much of the regular season. Once a vital piece of the Spurs, Manu has seen his importance slide as he has been slowly phased out in favor of younger and more athletic players such as Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. With his contract expiring at season's end, it is doubtful that the Spurs will re-up him as his age and diminishing abilities have all but sealed his fate. He is no longer the same Manu who helped the Spurs win four Championship titles and it may be time to bid him a fond yet heartfelt farewell. |
First Player
of the Month: Tiago Splitter
 One can certainly consider Tiago Splitter as one of the best NBA players that no one has ever heard. Although Forever he still remains under the huge shadow of Tim Duncan, Splitter has put forth a rather solid season averaging close to 10 points and 7 boards in under 25 minutes per game. At the same time, he has been near perfect from the field hitting close to .600 of his attempts. Throughout the months of January and February, Tiago has been a crucial contributor offensively scoring in double digits in all but four games while shooting over .500 in all but two. With such tremendous play, one has to wonder what if the Spurs chose not to resign Duncan in favor of Splitter--would they be just as good without him as with him? |
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Analysis:
Once again the San Antonio Spurs have regained the top spot in the NBA with the most wins in the regular season making most observers ask the following question--who cares? It is nothing new as San Antonio has finished every regular season winning 55 to 60 games--it is almost expected. The problem occurs after the regular season and into the post season where the Spurs have been less than stellar to say the least. In the last three years, despite posting the best regular season records in the league San Antonio has choked in the playoffs being eliminated twice in the first round. Last season it looked as if San Antonio had broken that jinx going undefeated in its conference to reach the Conference Finals; however, they were embarrassingly thwarted yet again by the Oklahoma City Thunder despite opening the series two wins to none. Like that adorable animated Mexican stereotype, Speedy Gonzales, Oklahoma City simply zipped past the Spurs leaving them in the dust and forcing them and their fans to swallow another disappointing post season performance.
Upon observing the history of the past four years, it has become painfully clear that the window has closed on San Antonio's ability to win another NBA title despite finishing among the top teams in the regular season. They still remain among the league's elite, however, only because of their past accomplishments winning four NBA Championships in the last fifteen years with only the Los Angeles Lakers possessing more NBA titles in that span of time. In fact, on can go as far as to say that San Antonio's stature is bolstered by the past so much that it has skewered the perceptions of many including their fans. The plain and simple fact is that matter how many wins a team gets in the regular season, the only thing that matters in the end is whether or not it wins a championship in the end, and in the Spurs'case, it seems that their ability to do so have finally come to an end. It has almost come to the point of monotony watching the Spurs build up so high to get to the playoff only to get knocked over with ease. One can liken the Spurs to a rerun of an old television sitcom that has long since been cancelled: you can watch it everyday and still have a chuckle no matter how many times you look at it; however as time wears on, the show begins to lose its appeal and you begin to lose interest. That is the problem with the Spurs--they seem to be stuck in this ongoing time loop in time never advancing, just simply spinning the wheels, but simply going nowhere. Despite the advancing ages of their three stars and their declining production, the Spurs still consistently fut forth the same forth and get the same results every time. Unfortunately, when the team simply does not deliver once the regular season is over as their big three no longer have the gas to continue forward with the momentum into the playoffs resulting in the team falling off time and time again. It has literally been an ongoing punchline of a joke that starts of being funny, but as time wears on it starts to stop being funny and after a while people start to lose interest. That is why despite their consistently finishing among the top five teams in the NBA during regular season, the Spurs are rarely, if ever mentioned as a potential championship contender as many have started to lose faith in this one time dynasty. Kudos to the Spurs, however, for maintaining the same consistency over the past fifteen years not showing few if any signs of decline. Many NBA teams with aging rosters often find themselves in decline after four or five years, crash and are then forced to start rebuilding from scratch--but not the Spurs. In their case, it seems as if Father Time has kept them insulated in a bubble for the entire regular season and finally lets them out once the playoffs arrive thus revealing their true age and resulting in their early post season eliminations. And that what remains frustrating for fans of the Spurs because they continue seeing this vicious cycle over and over again to the point that they have become nauseous from the continuous spinning in circles--to quote an old Smashing Pumpkins song: "despite all (their) rage, they still just rats in a cage." With the season's end coming sooner with each passing game, it is almost a forgone conclusion that San Antonio will finish with either the best record in the league, or worst, among the top three teams; however, expect the endgame to remain the same. The Spurs will end up going so far only to slip, fall and crash to back to Earth being forced to watch on the sidelines as another team goes on to win the NBA championship. What was once a team known for its consistent hard work and solid play are now earning the reputation of being a consistent source of disappointment and frustration for its fans. Sooner or later, Spurs fans will grow tired of the same old circus act and start to lose interest and do not think that will happen because it already has with the rest of the basketball viewing community. Although the team deserves credit for maintaining the same consistency over time with little or no signs of deteriorating, the San Antonio Spurs still remain stuck once their hit that major speed bump otherwise known as the NBA Playoffs. |
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Tuesday, March 5, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for December: 1. Los Angeles Clippers
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Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of December 31st): 25-6 , first place Pacific Division
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8
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This Month:
1
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Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of December 31st):
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Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of December 31st):
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Worst Player
of the Month: Grant Hill
It is pretty unfair to place Grant Hill as the worst player of the month as he had not played a single game in November; however, since there were no real candidates that deserved to be labeled the Worst for December, Hill became the official scapegoat of the team. Everyone on the Clippers active roster has been playing at peak efficiency and there has not been any real poor performer to speak of. Even November's worst player, Lamar Odom, has gotten out his funk somewhat as his numbers improved from the previous month and has become a solid defensive presence and the boards as well averaging 1.3 blocks and 7.3 boards per game coming off the bench. So a sincere apology to Mr. Grant Hill, whose absence due to injury has blacklisted him as December's worst player; however, if he were to read this, Grant Hill would probably agree with the logic of why he was put there ti begin with.
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First Player
of the Month: Lamar Odom
It seemed as if Odom was on his way to basketball oblivion after a rather pathetic showing in November; however he has rebounded quite nicely as his numbers have improved across the board. Although he still continues to provide little on the offensive end averaging a career low 4.8 per game, he has given the Clippers a boost with his tenacity on the boards and the defensive end. In December Lamar came off the bench to average around seven boards and a block per game while he supported his teammates on the offensive end with his passing as he also averaged 2.3 assists per game. Although it has become pretty obvious that Lamar Odom will never return to the same player that won the Sixth Man of the Year Award two years ago, he has proven that he can still be a solid contributor for a team with championship aspirations.
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Analysis:
For the first time in the city's history, there is a new basketball king in the City of Angels--after being draped under the purple and gold, Los Angeles has been freed from decades of Laker domination as the city along with the world's hoops fans will be subject to a new monarch. After years of wallowing at the bottom of the standings and being the butt of jokes for sports pundits and editorials, the Los Angeles Clipper have finally risen from the murky depths to sit atop the thrown of professional basketball. This is an epic tale of biblical proportions that has been almost 43 years in the making ever since the team was a floundering basketball franchise in Buffalo, New York and after nearly a half century of floating in the filth of futility, what was thought of a pipe dream to many has now become a reality. Now the story has finally reached its apex as the meek have finally inherited the Earth and those who were once considered the lowest of the low have, after years of wandering in the desert, finally found the promised land. Fans whom have followed out of pity now can rejoice as their years of steadfast devotion have reaped little returns have finally been rewarded as the Los Angeles Clippers, for the first time in the team's history, are now on the top at the mountain finishing 2012 with the league's best record.
Those who have not followed the sport very long cannot even fathom the monumental historical ramifications of what they are witnessing today as this is the team that has had the onerous distinction as not only the worst franchise in the NBA, but the history of professional sports. In its more than forty years of existence, the Clippers have only managed the reach the post season just four times in it's entire history and only one playoff series win to its credit. One can probably look up the word "loser" in a dictionary or search for it on the web and can find the the name or logo of the Los Angeles Clippers would be posted alongside the definition as the two words have long been synonymous. Those who have had the dubious honor of playing for the much maligned franchise as the Clippers must be secretly shedding tears of joy watching the team that they had been ashamed of for so long, finally make good. With such a momentous event, it is shocking how the Earth has managed to continue rotating on its axis after such a drastic shift in paradigm that has occurred right at this moment. Fans were glad enough last season to see their Clippers manage to win only its second playoff series in franchise history only to be swept in the Conference Semi-Finals by the San Antonio Spurs. They were probably would have been satisfied to continue sharing first place Pacific Division title with the fellow downtrodden Golden State Warriors as the Clips did at the end of November; however, to not only take the division, but the Western Conference as well topping the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, must have Clippers fans comatose in sheer bliss as this went beyond any if all of their expectations. No one would have even given the idea a second thought that the Los Angeles Clippers, of all teams, would enter December with a 9-6 record and swept in to coast through the end of 2012 winning every single game. And they did it in such splendid fashion as well outscoring their opponents 105 to 89 winning all but four games by ten points or more Some may want to diminish such a feat noting that in December the Clippers did not have such a harsh December schedule as they had only faced five teams with over .500 record and those who had winning record were not that much to speak off. Of those five teams were a hobbling Chicago Bulls team (12/11/2012), an aging and over the hill Boston Celtic squad (12/27/2012), and two mediocre middle of the pack teams in the Denver Nuggets (12/25/2012) and the Utah Jazz (12/3, 12/28, 12/30). Nonetheless, regardless of the level of talent that the Clippers may have faced, to simply breeze through the month of December without one loss, especially against four team that measured at par with them is monumental enough to say the least. They may have scraped past the Bulls by just five points, and barely hung on to beat the Jazz in two of the three games they faced each other, but the Clips made short work of the Celtics crushing them by 29 points and clobbered the Denver Nuggets scoring a whopping 112 points beating them by double figures. None of those teams were capable of containing the Clippers let alone stopping them as Los Angeles was just simply too much for them--something that would have been considered almost ludicrous if someone would have projected such a feat to occur. With four months left in the regular season, it is delusional to think that the Clippers will maintain such a run going into 2013; nonetheless, whether they fall one, two or even three spots from the top, they will still be the Kings of L.A. With their arch-nemesis Lakers reeling and barely able to hold on and little or no competition whatsoever save for the Golden State Warriors, look for the Los Angeles Clippers to stay atop the Pacific Division until playoff time. Then everyone will see whether the Clippers continue to shatter even more barriers to possibly reach their first NBA Finals and maybe even win their first NBA Championship; however if that were to happen, the ensuing results will possibly be catastrophic. Forget about the Mayan Calender, the real apocalypse will occur once the Clippers accomplish the unfathomable feat of earning its first NBA Championship. It is doubtful that the world will be able to handle such a sudden and monumental shift that can possibly obliterate the space-time continuum--so for the sake of survival, let us hope that the Clippers do not manage to go as far to win it all as the ensuing results may have us all spiraling towards oblivion. |
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Tuesday, January 15, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for November: 1. Memphis Grizzlies
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Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of November 30th): 12-2, first place Southwest Division
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11
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This Month:
1
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Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of November 30th)
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Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of November 30th)
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Worst Player
of the Month: Tony Allen
 Although Tony Allen has maintained his scoring numbers to his career average of eight per game and his perimeter defense has remained a cut above the rest, his offense leaves a little to be desired. As of the end of November, Allen has shot just .383 from the field and has yet to make one from beyond the arc. Allen's perimeter defense still remains in top form as he averages close to two steals per game; however, that may not be enough for him to keep his starting job. Both newcomers Jerryd Bayless and Wayne Ellington have been breathing down his neck putting up solid numbers while giving Allen a run for his money for the starting two guard spot. Unless he picks up his offensive output, Allen might be finding himself coming off the bench or even no longer in a Grizzlies unform once the season comes to a close. |
First Player
of the Month: Zach Randolph
 After an injury riddled and rather sub par season where he posted his lowest scoring average in eight year, many believed that Zach Randolph had finally ran out of gas. Thankfully, this season, he has proven his detractors and doubters wrong as he has bounced back posting his usual stellar numbers averaging 16 points and eleven boards per game. In the month of November, Randolph scored in double figures in all but one game, and scored 15 or more points in every game but two. In addition to putting points on the board, he was a beast on the board tallying a double-double in points and rebounds in all but two games along with two games where he grabbed 15 or more rebounds. Once rumored to be on the trading block last season, Zach Randolph has shown the fans, coaching staff and management that he is more valuable in a Grizzlies uniform than anywhere else. |
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Analysis:
For the first time in the team's history, the Memphis Grizzlies have finally reached the top of the mountain after years of finishing either at the bottom or middle of the pack. At the end of November, Memphis finished not only at the top of its division beating out the routine leading San Antonio Spurs, but also with the best best record in the Western Conference and the league as well. This is quite surprising considering that the Grizz do not really have a marquee player or any widely recognizable player. This team, which hails from a rather small and unnoticeable market, managed to beat out teams in much stronger market such as Miami, New York and Los Angeles. In fact, one can go as far as to say that Memphis may be the best NBA team that no one knows about.
As part of the Southwest Division, Memphis has always been either cast aside or ignored as most of the attention would be focused on teams such as the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks. Even the New Orleans Hornets, a team that has spent much of its time in the shadows have had more media exposure than the Grizzlies have had thus far. While most media outlets focused on the rise of such teams as the Los Angeles Clippers and the fall of their Staples Center co-tenant Lakers, Memphis silently climbed up the ladder without anyone being the wiser. After they started the season losing their first game to the Clippers (10/31/2013), the Grizzlies simply went on a tear winning their next eight games and finished the month of November winning twelve of their next fourteen games. What is even more surprising was not so much how many games this team won, but who the Grizz beat to get those wins. From a wide eyed perspective, Memphis had quite a challenging schedule to say the least. In their inaugural month of the season, the Grizzlies would face the reigning NBA Champion Miami Heat (11/11/2012), last season's Western Conference Champion Oklahoma City Thunder (11/14/2012), and the current Atlantic Division leading New York Knicks (11/16/2012). Granted, one would never associate the Memphis Grizzlies with being pushovers; however, considering the fact that a team that no one really considered a championship contender beat three of the teams who many have contending for the finals is a rather impressive feat. Even more impressive was not just the fact that they beat those, but in the way they beat them and by how much. For the entire month Memphis beat all but four teams by very wide double digit margins and kept all their opponents, save for one, from scoring 100 points. In their twelve wins, the Grizzlies beat their opponents by an average margin of 11 points, while holding their victims to 88.9 points and .425 shooting. They held the league's top team in field goal percentage and reigning NBA Champ Miami Heat to shooting just .380 from the field, and kept the same team that boasts three of the greatest players in their generation to just scoring 86 points while at the same time crushing one of the best defenses in the league torching Miami scoring 104 points on them. To think that a team with no real recognizable stars could grind down a team consisting of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh is almost unfathomable. Yet the Grizz did so with the greatest of ease along with humbling Kevin Durant of the Thunder and silencing Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks. It is just a shame that such feats have gone unnoticed by mainstream media as they mostly concentrate on focusing on the franchises with the most notoriety and the Marquee names--two facets that the Grizzlies unfortunately do not possess. While the media focused on the downfalls of fan favorites, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, the Grizzlies silently and sneakily took the top spot in the NBA beating the best of the best rather handily to get there. It almost seems unfair that Memphis would get little or no attention whatsoever despite pulling what very few NBA franchise were capable of doing--beating the best of the best and rising at the top of the league standing in the first month of the season. Hopefully, November's phenomenal finish will start a trend and the Grizzlies continue to maul each passing victim on by one. Despite earning little attention from the press, fans, and the media, the Grizzlies certainly have kept opposing teams and their coaches on their toes they both realize that the Memphis Grizzlies are far more than they have ever anticipated. Even though they don't receive it from outside sources, watch the other 29 teams, especially those in the upper echelon, pay Memphis the respect that it deserves. |
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