Don't Feed the Bears!!

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If you look at the NBA Playoff picture, there have been quite a few surprises. From the ending of two eras in LA and San Antonio, to the gritty performances from Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose, to the rise of the "Big 3" in Miami, this year's playoffs has had a little bit of everything.

But out of all of it, there is only one team that you can honestly say you did not expect to see remaining in the hunt at this point: the Memphis Grizzlies. Why is nobody talking about them?? I have no idea. The hypocrisy of the "un-biased" sports media kills me sometimes. Their destruction of the San Antonio Spurs was a masterpiece to watch, but people were quick to discredit it. The championship experience of the Spurs that was so highly touted before their matchup with the Grizzlies was quickly turned into a mixture of age and poor health, taking away the factor of Memphis' stellar defense and tough inside play. Tomorrow, everyone will want to talk about the debacle that was the Lakers and their early exit from the postseason. While the situation may seem the same, pundits will be quick to give credit to Dir Nowitzki's Mavericks and their superiority. They'll talk about how the Mavs were just that much better than LA, and how unbeatable they'll be against either OKC or Memphis. You won't hear the same naysayers against Kobe's Lakers, as the red carpet of respect will be doled out in full force in preparation of the expected retirement of Phil Jackson.

Now, I'm not gonna try to take anything away from Phil and his records, but what people should be talking about is the team that nobody wants to play. The Grizzlies are young, their talented, their athletic and best of all, they have no fear. The numbers are there girls and boys: Their bigs (Zach Randolph & Marc Gasol) are averaging nearly 40 points & over 20 rebounds per game in the playoffs. They are +2 in the Assist/Turnover ratio, which means they take care of the ball. The intangibles are there: They are a #8 Seed that knocked off the best team in the NBA in dominant fashion. They showed that they knew how to go for the kill in round one in closing out the Spurs. They showed grit and determination in their game 3 performance against the Thunder, erasing a 16 point deficit before winning in overtime. They are no joke.

But the truly defining aspect of this team has been its poise. This is a team that had never won a single playoff game during its ten year tenure in the city of Memphis. They had made three prior trips to the playoffs, all resulting in clean sweeps for their opponents. When the Spurs were on tap, I don't remember reading a single prediction or hearing of anyone picking them to pull it off. Now here they sit, two games away from the Western Conference finals. We'll see how much they continue to ride under the radar, but for Dallas' sake, I hope they don't spend too much time gloating.