BaunceyChillups wrote: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.
BD12 wrote: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.
Prospect Dong wrote: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).