The Grizzlies have the best record in the NBA...

[TheHartBreakKid]

The West is too good...Boston/NY/chicago fans are about to get upset but I think any of San Antonio, OKC, Memphis, Clippers and the Lakers would be favorites to make the ECF with Miami.

[Jase]

8 games in folks.

(Still though, best record sounds nice )

Huge difference between being 7-1 against cupcake teams and being 7-1 having beaten the two teams that were in the Finals last year, as well as the only previously-undefeated team in the league. They're beating quality clubs.

[Never Wrong]

8 games in folks.

(Still though, best record sounds nice )

Huge difference between being 7-1 against cupcake teams and being 7-1 having beaten the two teams that were in the Finals last year, as well as the only previously-undefeated team in the league. They're beating quality clubs.

Yup, Memphis has had a tough schedule. I know it's early, but it wouldn't surprise me if they finished with the league's best record.

[Prospect Dong]

No superstars on the Grizz, but some really good players who fit and play well together. Pound the boards, abuse their size... Smart ball without spamming any single option too much.

I don't think they're a title threat barring injury, but they are a really good team and a treat to watch. Great inside-out play... I'd call them a dark horse. Hot start early is nice, but this is a marathon, not a race; we'll see what's shaking at the break. They are a good team and they are a threat to make the Finals... And despite my hesitancy to proclaim them contenders, given some luck and the right matchups...

I don't think there's any team the Griz couldn't hope to beat, when healthy, in the west. As of right now you'd have to give the Thunder and the Clips the edge against them in a seven game series, but it's a pretty narrow edge. The lakers look better on paper, but I think they've struggled enough to date that they actually need to earn their favourite status.

As for the East, I think the griz probably deserve to be favoured over anyone other than the Heat, and again, while they have a clear edge the Griz have repeatedly beaten them in the regular season and have the size to exploit their small ball.

I think, based on how things look so far, you can call them a legit contender, though far from title favourites.

[tsherkin]

Why is Z-Bo not a superstar? He's a better player than either Westbrook or Melo.

He's not nearly good enough to be considered in that tier of player, and as others have said, there's at least some media element to the term as well, which Z-Bo does not embody. I love that he kills the boards for them as hard as he does, and it's really nice to see him fitting into the team concept on offense as well as he does. He doesn't have as shapely or critical an offensive presence as I'd like to see out of a legitimate superstar who doesn't play All-D level ball on that side of the floor, either, right, so his impact isn't up there in the superstar tier. Memphis is a beautiful team; why take away from that with the incessant need to have a superstar? I think that's maybe the nicest thing about the Grizz; they remind me of the 04 Pistons in that they DON'T have any especially noteworthy focal player. Hell, Rudy Gay is taking considerably more shots than Randolph, which is as dumb as spiked punch given how poorly he's scored this season, but the Grizz are setting things up and Randolph's clearing the offensive glass like a champ, as is Mo Speights in his limited minutes.

Right matchups? The only team that will give them fits is the Clippers. Everybody else is a cakewalk for the Grizzlies if healthy going into the playoffs.

A cakewalk? That's not fair to say, no. It'll be an interesting post season. Meantime, they have a couple of EC teams that would be matchup issues, and that comment was made in reference to Memphis posing a title threat.

I don't think there's any team the Griz couldn't hope to beat, when healthy, in the west. As of right now you'd have to give the Thunder and the Clips the edge against them in a seven game series, but it's a pretty narrow edge. The lakers look better on paper, but I think they've struggled enough to date that they actually need to earn their favourite status.

We'll see. I'd bet on L.A. if they were healthy because Howard immediately nullifies Gasol's impact, at least, and I think it's clear that Nash is superior to Conley. Metta will be disruptive, especially if Gay continues to peddle his mediocre scoring wares and Pau matches up well with Z-Bo. Now, those are just straight 1v1 matchups, so team chemistry will be important and obviously the Grizz have phenomenal team chemistry, but the offensive firepower on L.A. and how well it meshes (as opposed to, say, the 04 Lakers) leaves me doubtful that Memphis will be able to hang with the Lakers once/if they get semi-healthy. The Clippers, as you mentioned, look nastier and I'd be stopping and thinking about the Thunder, sure. I'd be intrigued by Dallas, too; I don't think the Mavs are at all a title threat unless Dirk comes back VERY strong, but I think they have the potential to play spoiler in the early rounds, or to exhaust a team in the first round with a drawn-out series, leaving them more vulnerable going forward. You run a 4-3 series victory in the first round and your opponent goes 4-1 or 4-2, sometimes that can make a difference.

As for the East, I think the griz probably deserve to be favoured over anyone other than the Heat, and again, while they have a clear edge the Griz have repeatedly beaten them in the regular season and have the size to exploit their small ball.

Mmm. I wouldn't call them a favorite over New York based on a single RS game. Remember, that loss happened because of the 3rd quarter in the Knicks/Grizz game. New York was +3 over the other three quarters in the game but laid an 18-point egg while the Grizz scored 31 in the third quarter. Melo played only 3 minutes in that quarter because of some fouls and a tech, I mean that game was just a RS game. The 72-win Bulls lost to the expansion Raptors, right? So did the WC champ Sonics that year, it happens. I'd still tend to favor the Knicks in a Finals series. At least until we get a better idea of how things shake out over the regular season for both teams (not necessarily against one another, but what lasts, what doesn't, what remains a strength, what fades, etc).

[[GR]]

Memphis' schedule gets a lot easier too:

Nov, 19th VS Denver
Nov, 23th VS LA Lakers
Nov, 26th VS Cleveland
Nov, 28th VS Toronto
Nov, 30th VS Detroit



All at home, and the only tough game is the Lakers.

[TwentyOne920]

4-1 is plausible for that stretch and I see the Grizzlies beating the Lakers. It all comes down to which Gasol brother plays better and who between Randolph and Howard grab more boards.

[Neutral 123]

Not THAT surprising. Was more surprised at them losing to the Clips last year. They definitely can stay top 3 in the conference til the end of the season.

[TwentyOne920]

Not THAT surprising. Was more surprised at them losing to the Clips last year. They definitely can stay top 3 in the conference til the end of the season.

The Grizzlies could be stopped last season by letting Mayo chuck them out of games, reducing their ball movement. And they took so many long 2s last season, hence an inefficient offense.

[Neutral 123]

Not THAT surprising. Was more surprised at them losing to the Clips last year. They definitely can stay top 3 in the conference til the end of the season.

The Grizzlies could be stopped last season by letting Mayo chuck them out of games, reducing their ball movement. And they took so many long 2s last season, hence an inefficient offense.

Wow, well I guess we won't be able to have an exchange on this. So they are better by subtraction? That could be the case. Still not sure if they'll be able to get it done without an elite star though in the playoffs.

[East_Coast]

The Grizz are good enough to win the 'chip this year. Definitely wouldn't be a shock if it happened.

The key is that ZBo seems to be healthy. 17.2/13.9 certainly doesn't suck.

[marson]

In the past 5 years, Ive learned that regular season record means absolutely nothing, ask Dallas, San Antonio, Cleveland, Chicago. Its not a big deal to me anymore.

Sent from my GT-S5360 using Tapatalk 2

[KGboss]

I dont believe they can sustain this all season. They will come back down to the level they played at last season by playoff time. Clippers as well and Milwaukee as well. Bucks are the #2 seed in the east and are playing the most high paced offense in the league. That wont maintain either.

[Downtown]

Memphis has made very few changes the last two years with their core. They have played together and know each other and now that the last two seasons of injuries are behind them they have it back on track. They sort of remind me of the Pistons from the Billups era. They look in mid season form earlier than most teams.

But I expect other teams to come around and catch up so I think this streak isn't going to last. But if they can stay away from injuries this season there's no reason not to expect them to be in the hunt in the West.

The most significant changes have been to their bench. They brought in Speights when Randolph injured his knee and he's been a keeper. I think Pondexter was brought in in the trade with the Hornets and he's proving to be versatile. And they've tried for a few years with various backups to Conley and it looks early on that Bayless is fitting in and getting the job done, although look what Vasquez is doing in New Orleans since being dealt from Memphis. And Ellington has been a pleasant surprise, finally showing the shooting form that was expected of him when the Wolves drafted him.

That four man bench has provided them with just enough scoring and defence to give the starters enough breaks, although like the past few seasons Memphis really relies heavily on the starters to log big minutes.

[mid-post]

I dont believe they can sustain this all season. They will come back down to the level they played at last season by playoff time. Clippers as well and Milwaukee as well. Bucks are the #2 seed in the east and are playing the most high paced offense in the league. That wont maintain either.

I don't think people are expecting them to go 64-8, but that they can keep playing at a high level against the teams that are playoff squads, or in playoff contention. They're also a better basketball team this year, period. The bench is better and the offensive flow (even with Gay shooting poorly so far) is better.

It's not really a matter of sustaining anything. The Grizz are clearly a tier above the 7-8 seed teams when they're playing well and have played tough basketball against all the teams you expect to be 1-2 seeds. There are plenty of cupcake squads that they just aren't going to lose to anymore like they have in the past, and they've gotten a lot better on the road over the past few seasons too.

[Prospect Dong]

We'll see. I'd bet on L.A. if they were healthy because Howard immediately nullifies Gasol's impact, at least, and I think it's clear that Nash is superior to Conley. Metta will be disruptive, especially if Gay continues to peddle his mediocre scoring wares and Pau matches up well with Z-Bo. Now, those are just straight 1v1 matchups, so team chemistry will be important and obviously the Grizz have phenomenal team chemistry, but the offensive firepower on L.A. and how well it meshes (as opposed to, say, the 04 Lakers) leaves me doubtful that Memphis will be able to hang with the Lakers once/if they get semi-healthy.

On paper, coming into the season, that Lakers squad is absolutely terrifying. But there are sufficient question marks around their coaching, age and integration, and the grizzlies have been sufficiently impressive to date that I can absolutely see them ending up as another Griz-Spurs type series, with the griz upsetting an ageing contender against the apparent odds. But equally I wouldn't be at all surprised if the lakers do manage to pull it together...

I wouldn't call them a favorite over New York based on a single RS game. Remember, that loss happened because of the 3rd quarter in the Knicks/Grizz game. New York was +3 over the other three quarters in the game but laid an 18-point egg while the Grizz scored 31 in the third quarter. Melo played only 3 minutes in that quarter because of some fouls and a tech, I mean that game was just a RS game. The 72-win Bulls lost to the expansion Raptors, right? So did the WC champ Sonics that year, it happens. I'd still tend to favor the Knicks in a Finals series.

The griz have been the better team than the knicks each of the last two seasons, beat them by double figures a couple of days ago and have a better record against tougher competition. Again, we're talking probabilities not certainties here, but it's hard to see what else the grizzlies could have done to show that they deserve to be favoured over Melo and co.

[blueNorange]

grizzlies are legit

still don't understand how the ball magically goes to randolph

[Laker at Heart]

still don't understand how the ball magically goes to randolph

Gravity

[Guy]

still don't understand how the ball magically goes to randolph

Gravity

He's a big guy all around and has great rebounding instinct to go along with his natural aggression (someone who isn't afraid to bang down low). That's why he's an amazing rebounder, despite his physical limitations.

[Never Wrong]

I dont believe they can sustain this all season. They will come back down to the level they played at last season by playoff time. Clippers as well and Milwaukee as well. Bucks are the #2 seed in the east and are playing the most high paced offense in the league. That wont maintain either.

I don't think people are expecting them to go 64-8, but that they can keep playing at a high level against the teams that are playoff squads, or in playoff contention. They're also a better basketball team this year, period. The bench is better and the offensive flow (even with Gay shooting poorly so far) is better.

It's not really a matter of sustaining anything. The Grizz are clearly a tier above the 7-8 seed teams when they're playing well and have played tough basketball against all the teams you expect to be 1-2 seeds. There are plenty of cupcake squads that they just aren't going to lose to anymore like they have in the past, and they've gotten a lot better on the road over the past few seasons too.

especially since there's more than 72 games in a season