Grizzlies still hold their own in West
In a summer in which the Grizzlies’ only significant new face is Kosta Koufos, the knee-jerk reaction is predictable: Every other team in the West is passing them by. I don’t buy it. Remember, the benchmark for this is the No. 5 seed, the spot the Grizzlies landed last year before a terrific playoff run. (Yes, the Griz were a game out of No. 3, but the significant gap in wins between Nos. 5 and 6 — 56 victories for Memphis, 47 for Golden State — is more instructive for this examination.)
The Spurs, Thunder and Clippers, three of the four teams that finished ahead of Memphis, are all going to have more talented rosters. But you knew that already. That wasn’t changing.
Some day, the Spurs will regress to the mean. But considering how well Tim Duncan played last year as he turned 37, it would be foolish to count on that anytime soon.
Oklahoma City brings back Russell Westbrook, in theory, and that’s more than reasonable compensation for the loss of Kevin Martin. Yes, the Clippers got better both on the bench and on the floor, but I’m not sure that they rise yet to championship contention. And since our benchmark is Memphis at No. 5 (and not the postseason), well, the Clippers are supposed to be there, part of those four best teams.
Denver? Check out what Christopher Dempsey wrote in the Denver Post a few days ago: “If the Nuggets don’t get Iguodala (to re-sign), not much else can be done to significantly improve the team from a free-agent signing standpoint.”
The Nuggets didn’t retain Andre Iguodala; he’s off to Golden State in a deal that will net Denver a mere Randy Foye. The Nuggets can fall down the list now.
Which doesn’t exactly mean the Grizzlies move up, it should be noted.
The Rockets, now with Dwight Howard, make a compelling case to vault ahead into one of the West’s top four spots. I like a Rockets team with Howard, James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin, even if it still has some outstanding questions. If any team is to catch Memphis from behind, it’s this one.
It isn’t the Warriors. Iguodala’s addition is a big one for this team, but it’s only a net gain, not a total one. Jarrett Jack is gone. So is Carl Landry. And if you’re saying Golden State is better than Memphis now, you’re assuming a ninegame swing in the win column from one year to the next. That’s hard to do, especially with a Griz team that returns every meaningful piece.
It’s hard to fear the Lakers, Mavericks or Jazz, the rest of the pool of teams that finished around the playoff cutoff last year. And the other teams? Portland will be better, I suspect. New Orleans, too. But they’ll be fortunate to challenge for the playoffs, not the elite of the West.
The flip side bears mentioning, of course: The Grizzlies don’t appear to have gotten dramatically better, at least relative to the rest of the West. Yet blaming management for that seems to be foolish. The only way for the Griz to have gotten dramatically better — and not just adding a single shooter here or there — would be to move one of the team’s most significant pieces, especially since there likely isn’t a big market for a 32-year-old Tayshaun Prince and his contract. And as the future goes, give the Griz credit for the Koufos move (he’s 24) and the way the rest of the roster is being built.
So the Griz sit back this offseason, content to let others try for the big moves, happy to not dance with risk and reward. Don’t panic: It should add up to just as competitive edition of the Grizzlies in 2013-14 as this past year. To reach Kyle Veazey call 901-529-2799, or email