Memphis Grizzlies: Powerhouse or Poser?

Memphis has won eight of 10 and is well within striking distance of the Clippers, trailing by just a half a game for the West’s fourth seed. Over the past two weeks, the Grizzlies have looked more like the scrappy team we saw in last year’s playoffs and less like the turbulent entity that has struggled to close out games all year.

But should we be surprised?

After posting a record of 19-22 for the first half of the 2010-11 campaign, Memphis went 27-14 in the second half—most of which was spent without their star player Rudy Gay—to sneak into the playoffs. As for the rest, that was history.

Literally.

The Grizzlies went on to defeat the top-seeded Spurs in the first round of the playoffs before pushing the Thunder to seven games in the semifinals. All without Gay, their superstar savior.

Needless to say, the bar was set pretty high heading into the 2011-12 campaign. Gay was healthy, Marc Gasol had just inked a four-year, $58 million deal and Zach Randolph had never looked more complete.

However, Memphis didn’t come out of the lockout strong, and spent most of January and February attempting to keep their heads above .500. Then came March, where the Grizzlies showed flashes of dominance, but also an absence of a killer instinct.

And now, here were are. It’s April, and the Grizzlies sit 10 games above .500, which is exactly where they sat this time last year.

Just like last season, this year has been far from pretty. Randolph missed 38 games with a partially torn MCL, Mike Conley has battled through ball-control issues since day one and the team, as a whole, has lacked intensity on the road.

Yet here the Grizzlies stand, merely a half game away from latching on to a playoff seed that gives them home court advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs.

Again, should we be surprised? Is this Grizzlies team an actual powerhouse or are they just skilled in the art of taking advantage of tired teams down the stretch?

Take your pick, because there’s no difference.

It is toward the end of a grueling schedule when we see what exactly teams are made of. This is the time that the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders, when the determined surpass the complacent and when the genuine supersede the artificial.

The Grizzlies are not some late-season, early-playoff facade, their the real deal. This is a team that has not had the luxury of employing a consistent rotation for two straight seasons. They’ve struggled to stay healthy, struggled to win on the road, struggled to rebound and struggled to develop versatility on the offensive side of the ball. And yet, they’ve never once struggled with their identity.

Memphis is a club that thrives off hustle plays—loose balls, drawn charges, transition defense, etc.—and embraces the role of the underdog.

No, Memphis doesn’t boast the likes of a LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Durant, just a handful of understated talent in Gay, Conely, Gasol, Randolph and O.J. Mayo. But does that make them inferior to teams like the Thunder, Heat and Lakers?

Absolutely not.

The Grizzlies are a title contender in the most humanized way possible. They are a group of athletes, who play off one another and who acknowledge their weaknesses, yet refuse to fold to them. Their’s no MVP candidate within their roster, no overwhelming statistical league leader in their midst.

And that’s hardly something we can hold against them.

Winning a championship is not solely about big names and maximum contracts, it’s about winning games when it counts most.

Thus far, this season, not even the Thunder, Bulls, Lakers and Heat have been fitting that bill.

The Grizzlies, though? They have.