America's Team!

So far in the second round of the NBA playoffs we’ve seen the Celtics get bullied by the Heat, the Bulls get upset on their home court, and most shockingly, we’ve seen the Lakers drop their first two games at home to the Mavericks (did you see Kobe's expression?)  But the most compelling story so far has got to be (Drum Roll please)... that the Memphis Grizzlies have become America's Team!

Okay, so maybe my proclamation is bit of a reach, but they really should be.  Featuring an assorted and compelling cast of characters and a coach who was an assistant for 18 years before getting the gig two years back (and still I'd never heard of him,) these guys have somehow managed to do the impossible.  Their first round matchup against the mighty Spurs was case-in-point. The Four-Time Champion Spurs had the best record in the West this year.  The Grizz had the worst record in the Western Playoffs, had never won a single playoff game in history (much less a whole series,) and they had lost their “best player” Rudy Gay for the season a few months back.  Plus, only once before in history had an eighth seed beaten a first seed in a seven game series.  The odds were significantly stacked against them.  It was the Evil Empire vs Luke.  Rocky vs Apollo Creed.  America Loves this stuff!!!

Will Z-Bo's Smile Continue?

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich didn't look at it that way though.  After losing Game 6 and the series, he openly admitted that the end result was no fluke, quipping to reporters with a defeated but sentient smile, "People might look at this and call it an upset... but they don't know the West.  They haven't seen these guys play."  What have I been saying for years people?  The West is vicious!   

 

Anyway, despite Pop's attempt to diffuse some of the drama, the Grizz are certianly the biggest underdog left in the race.  This young group of scrappy upstarts has the full attention of the league and the only thing left to wonder is, "Um, how far can they go?"  Can they handle the pressure cooker?  After watching them defeat Oklahoma City rather convincingly on the road, only a day and a half after dispatching the Spurs, I started thinking the unthinkable, like "Ummmmm… can these guys actually win the West???”

Lionel Hollins has taken his team into uncharted waters.  

This notion, previously thought to be completely ridiculous (if thought of at all,) now suddenly doesn't seem like such a stretch. If they can continue to get such inspired performances out of Z-Bo Randolph, Marc (Little Bro) Gasol, and Mike (somehow I got good really quickly and rather unexpectedly) Conley, it might just be possible. And then where would we be? The entire league would be turned on its head! There are no Cinderella stories in the NBA. The system of drawn-out playoff series' all but prevents them. Yet here we are. Could we have our first real Cinderella-type run since the Knicks of ‘99?  Well, here's hopin'!  The league may not want it, but basketball fans and underdogs everywhere would relish in it!

So as the basketball world continues to marvel at Miami’s Dynamic Duo, the Bulls’ fearless tenacity, and the Mavericks’ uncanny control of the Lakers, a big chunk of attention also has to be focused on a place altogether expected; Memphis, home of the mighty Grizz.  America's Team.  And hey, if they can’t make it out the second round, America’s team would simply then become the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Aw y'know… It’s not personal... it's an Underdog thing!

Here's to the little guy!  (Figuratively speaking of course.)

and Thanks for Reading,

J