Southwest Division

Memphis Grizzlies Power Rankings - 2012-13

Power Ranking
WEEKRECORDRANKCOMMENT
Week 2454-267The Clips just halted the Grizzlies' 13-game home winning streak. The same Clips who won a Game 7 in Memphis in the 2012 playoffs after winning a Game 1 in Memphis after falling behind by 27. So, yeah, I feel pretty safe saying that the Griz prefer seeing injury-riddled Denver in Round 1.
Week 2352-256Getting Marc Gasol to the playoffs in one piece is Priority No. 1 for the Griz. But getting back up to No. 3 in the West is a firm No. 2, which is why Sunday night's escape at Sacramento -- Memphis' seventh win this season when trailing in the last minute of regulation or OT -- could prove huge.
Week 2249-246Did allowing 47 points to John Wall prompt Marc Gasol to come back faster than anyone expected? Is Zach Randolph back to normal after 21 points and 12 boards in a win over Houston ended an uncharacteristic run of 11 straight sub-20-point games? Is the road malaise over after the W in 'Sota?
Week 2147-226Tough spot. But no choice. To have any hope of doing anything in the playoffs, Memphis has to shelve Marc Gasol -- for the rest of the regular season if necessary -- to give his abdominal injury hope of healing. Even if the Grizzlies get stuck with the dreaded No. 5 seed they've got now.
Week 2044-215Marc Gasol and Mike Conley have surged since Rudy Gay's departure, suggesting that the trade had plenty of addition-by-subtraction potential on top of the well-chronicled financial benefits. But the Grizz have lost 27 of their past 29 games in Denver, so holding onto the No. 4 seed is not optional.
Week 1942-196For a minute there, Memphis leapfrogged the Clips in the standings and reacquainted itself with the West's No. 3 spot. The Griz, though, have to play 13 of their final 21 games on the road, so achieving the more realistic goal of holding off Denver for No. 4 would presumably be satisfactory.
Week 1839-197Only two teams out there have managed to avoid a three-game road losing streak this season: Miami and these Grizzlies. What they've got to avoid from here, though, is any standings slippage. If you're on a crash course with Denver for Round 1, you've got to be the higher seed. Need to.
Week 1737-186The opposition hasn't been the toughest, true, but seven straight W's get your attention after so many folks came away from the Rudy Gay trade convinced that the Griz chucked in the season. They're 7-0 since Lionel Hollins came out and said it was time for all of them to suck it up and move on.
Week 1633-186The Grizzlies righted their ship heading into the All-Star break after the initial Rudy Gay hangover but face a tough stretch heading into March. An offensive uptick and better chemistry on defense are musts if Memphis wants to remain in the West's top four. (Chip Crain, 3 Shades Of Blue)
Week 1532-187The ball movement has picked up since Rudy Gay's departure. The team's attitude has been a lot better, too, since Lionel Hollins finally came out Friday and admitted that it's incumbent on the coach to set the moving-on tone for his team. No more time to waste given how hot Denver is.
Week 1430-168As mentioned in various corners of the Weekend Dime, I really don't think this team's ceiling has changed as drastically as many suggested in the wake of the Rudy Gay deal. Yet we'll have to see how long it takes Gay's ex-teammates and coaches to get over their initial disappointment.
Week 1328-157Maybe we shouldn't be too surprised Marc Gasol was an All-Star snubee. His 20 points in a home rout of the Nets marked Gasol's first 20-point game since (yikes) Dec. 1. The D-obsessed Grizz have been held to 85 points or fewer in seven of their last nine games.
Week 1226-136Every time I'm in an airport lately, I get stopped in my tracks by that shot of the Grizzlies' proud starting five on the March cover of SLAM magazine. Since there's obviously no guarantee, as the Feb. 21 trade deadline looms, all five of 'em will still be Grizzlies by the time we get to March.
Week 1124-116The Grizzlies' new year, so far, has been marked by a serious spike in smothering trade speculation to go with the ongoing concerns about their ability to score. Just don't forget to mention that the Griz got off to a 5-1 start in January amid all the uncertainty/negativity.
Week 1021-109The Grizz are just a .500 team since that brilliant 14-3 start and a worrisome 0-6 in games decided by five points or less. And thus, they've drifted to where most of us really expected them to be, right in that 4 to 5 range out West ... and thinking hard about trading Rudy Gay.
Week 919-86It's been a back-to-Earth December for the Griz: 7-6 this month after that 12-2 start. The big worries: Memphis' top four players average 34-plus minutes nightly -- none of the teams above them rides its stars that hard -- and Rudy Gay and Mike Conley still lack of the consistency of the big men.
Week 818-75Good stat: With Mike Conley at 13.8 ppg, Memphis is on the cusp of joining OKC and Portland on the short list of teams sporting four different players averaging at least 14 a game. Bad stat: On a squad already starved for shooting, Rudy Gay is at a career-worst 41.8 percent from the floor.
Week 715-66Winning in Salt Lake City, after a three-game slide, is a handy response to the "Let's see how the Grizz handle their first dose of adversity" crowd. Also have to pass along that, since its opening night stumble in Clipperland, Memphis hasn't allowed any of its 20 foes to score 100 points.
Week 614-45One of the most likable qualities about this Grizzlies team: They refuse to lose to anyone in the bottom half of these rankings. Road losses to the Clips and Spurs, home L's to the Nuggets and Hawks, nothing else out of Memphis that the committee (of one) is really going to ding 'em for.
Week 512-32The Spurs put themselves in position to be stuck with a mammoth $250,000 fine at least partly to make sure all of their key players were as rested as possible for a home game 48 hours later against the Memphis Grizzlies. Don't know that the Grizz will receive a higher compliment all season.
Week 49-21The Grizzlies' home loss to Denver mere hours after being anointed No. 1 by the committee (of one) reminded us that the Power Rankings jinx trumps all other jinxes worldwide. But that home win over the Lakers stopped us from dropping the Grizz after the sort of L that's usually more costly.
Week 38-11Unbeaten in November. Fifteen straight wins at home dating to last season. Victories over the Heat (home), Thunder (road) and Knicks (home) in succession to put the Q in quality win. Trailing only the Knicks (+10.5) and Clippers (+9.3) in per-game point margin (+9.0). Any questions?
Week 25-15Word is new Grizz owner Robert Pera can legitimately dunk. That inevitably led to jokes about how they have a far greater need for an owner who drains 3s ... but try telling that to Miami after the Wayne Ellington show. Says no less an authority than LeBron: "A really damn good team."
Week 11-112Something tells me, as the Robert Pera era launches, that no one told the Grizzlies' new owner that he inherits a franchise that has lost 12 straight season openers ... which Elias says is the longest such losing streak in the history of the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball.
Preseason0-09Feeling fairly sure that Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph will start more games together this season than the eight they started together last season. Not going to promise much more than that, though. Need to learn more about incoming ownership and their Rudy plans.
Training Camp41-2511Committee (of one) spies say Z-Bo looks far sharper coming into this season than he did at any point last season, but it won't mean much unless A) Z-Bo and Rudy Gay finally click, B) Gay is dealt for a better fit and C) Memphis eventually puts some shooters around Z-Bo and Marc Gasol.

Memphis Grizzlies