The Memphis Grizzlies are back like they never left

Everyone’s favorite grit and grinders are gritting and grinding again. Wrote about the Grizzlies, who refuse to go away. An excerpt:

The 2017–18 season sure seemed like it would finally, at long last, be the one where the Grizzlies actually did fall off. Franchise pillars Zach Randolph and Tony Allen left the team in free agency. So did Vince Carter. The Grizzlies cut ties with their 2016 first-round pick (Wade Baldwin) and they did not have a first-rounder in the 2017 draft to make up for it. Their major offseason acquisitions were a couple castoffs from the Kings (Tyreke Evans, Ben McLemore), and a second-round pick they snagged from the Rockets on draft day (Dillion Brooks at №45).

With the mass migration of talent from East to West (Jimmy Butler, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Paul Millsap, etc.) adding even more depth to a conference that was already a bear to get out of, it was not difficult to envision Memphis dropping off and finally sitting out the postseason. It’s early yet, but for seemingly the millionth straight season, those concerns may have been unfounded.

The Grizzlies are 7–4 through 11 games, with big wins over the Warriors, Rockets, Clippers and Blazers. They’re fifth in the West in point differential, and seventh in the league in Net Rating. They are once again strangling teams defensively (third in defensive efficiency as of Wednesday night, per NBA.com) and scoring at about an average rate (17th). Basically, despite losing two of the major principals from the grit and grind era, the Grizzlies have managed to remain pretty much the same team. Sure, they’re going about things a tiny bit differently — shooting more 3s (12th in attempts per game!) and getting into the offense a tiny bit faster — but the net result so far has been the same old Grizzlies.

Read the full story at The Step Back.