Earlier this season when Zach Randolph went down in a heap with, what turned out to be a torn MCL, the first two words I thought of were: Chris and Webber. Why the hell would I think of him? Because this Memphis squad reminds me a lot of the old Kings teams, and how a little bit of bad luck can ruin an opportunity to win a title. If we were to compare this version of Memphis with that version of Sacramento we would see some similarities. The defensive prowess of Tony Allen and Doug Christie, the bench impact of O.J. Mayo and Bobby Jackson, the passing skill of Divac (a big man from Europe) and Gasol (a big man from Europe), and of course; a star power-forward with a good inside-out game who struggled before finding the right team (for Webber it was Sacramento, for Randolph it was Memphis). Obviously there are differences as well: Conely and Rudy Gay are vastly different then Bibby and Stojakovic but the fact remains that (when healthy) both teams had arguably the best starting five's in the league. Notice I did not say best player (LeBron) or best one-two punch (Durant/Westbrook), but F-I-V-E, Memphis has arguably the best combination of players and a sixth-man in the league. But their inherent problem has not been choking (they have several players who can hit big shots), or lack of talent (see above) it has been bad luck (refer to the word in bold above).
Last season, Memphis came out of the gate struggling, but as the season progressed it became clear that this team was a lot better then people thought. Once everything started to click (the Grizzlies had a 12-3 record in the period of Jan 21 - Feb 21 of last season) it seemed like this could be a team to contend. Then Rudy Gay was proclaimed out for the year. Memphis still finished the season on a decent 15-10 run but could only muster an eight seed. We all know what happened next, they thoroughly outplayed San Antonio and only a 3OT loss in game 5 to OKC on the road could stop them. Does a healthy Rudy Gay make the difference for that team? Could the 2011 Grizzlies have won the title if they stayed healthy? One could certainly argue that they would have had a much better chance, just like the 02' Kings (Peja-ankle), 03' Kings (Webber-knee) and 04' Kings (Jackson-abdomen) probably would have. Which is exactly why I was so disappointed when Zach Randolph was injured. Although news has come out that he has progressed fantastically and will not be done for the year (as coach Hollins told SI the other day) will this Memphis team that had no training camp (lockout be damned), and few prolonged stretches of playing together be able to get things together for a title run? If last year's Mavericks squad taught us anything its that defense, teamwork, and execution down the stretch go a long way towards winning. Memphis can do all of those things, whether they will catch a few breaks remains to be seen.
A team gets very few opportunities to win a title before the window closes. Having seen that happen to my favorite team, i hate seeing it happen to a team that is so similar. Here is hoping that Memphis can pull it together and take their chance before time runs out on them.
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