The Boston Celtics defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 110-105 on Monday night, raising their record to an NBA-best 20-4.
The victory over the Grizzlies wasn’t all that surprising given that the Celtics are a veteran team with three potential Hall of Famers on their roster.
But Boston didn’t cruise to a win over Memphis. In fact, the Celtics and Grizzlies were locked in a competitive game that remained in doubt until the final buzzer.
The game featured 18 lead changes and 15 ties, and neither team led by more than eight points at any time.
After the game, Boston’s Paul Pierce noted the improvement the youthful Grizzlies have made since getting off to a 1-8 start.
“They’re right on our heels, man,” Pierce said. “If they grow together and continue to play together, they’ll be right there.
“It’s unfortunate that they’re in the Western Conference. If they were in the East, they would probably be a top-four seed right now.”
Memphis (10-14) has won nine of their last 15 since that terrible start, which included the organization releasing Allen Iverson from his one-year contract.
The drama surrounding Iverson’s short-lived stay with the team seemed to coincide with the Grizzlies early season troubles. But Memphis can’t blame their poor start on Iverson alone.
The Grizzlies early season defense was horrendous, allowing 111.1 PPG through the team’s first nine games. Since then, Memphis is allowing 100.7 PPG over their last 15 games.
While the points allowed per game still needs improvement, the overall chemistry and the team’s rebounding have gotten much better.
Memphis averages more than four rebounds per game than their opponents, including better than two offensive rebounds per game.
Zach Randolph Has Been a Solid Performer For The Memphis Grizzlies
Despite the pundits that criticized the Zach Randolph acquisition, the 8-year NBA veteran has provided the young Grizzlies with an experienced presence.
Through 24 games, Randolph is averaging 18.7 PPG and 10.0 RPG, producing numbers that are generally in line with his career averages.
He gives Memphis another legitimate scoring threat behind Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, something the team lacked last season. Gay leads the team in scoring at 21.3 PPG while Mayo is averaging 17.7 per game.
Third-year guard Mike Conley, Jr. continues to improve, although his 42.5 field goal percentage is well below where it needs to be.
But Conley has a 2.24 assists to turnover ratio and his 33.3 percentage from three-point range is acceptable.
Center Marc Gasol, signed last year after spending five years playing in Europe, is becoming a genuine inside presence for Memphis.
His 14.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game are better than last season’s averages but he’s prone to frequent foul trouble, which doesn’t bode well for the Grizzlies when he spends nearly 13 minutes a game on the bench.
Memphis has more depth this season than last year, but the inexperience of that depth limits the options coach Lionel Hollins has. Backup guard Jamal Tinsley and forward Steven Hunter provide the only experienced backups.
Guard Marcus Williams is in his fourth season in the NBA while Sam Young, Hasheem Thabeet and DeMarre Carroll are all in their rookie seasons.
While the level of energy the backups bring to the game has been good, the inability to provide serious scoring threats has forced the starters to provide 80% of the offense.
As Pierce pointed out, the Grizzlies will face an uphill climb if they are to earn a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Memphis is three-and-a-half games behind current eighth seed Portland and would have to jump over four other teams to just land the West’s last playoff spot.
Realistically, Memphis doesn’t have a legitimate chance to earn a playoff spot in 2009-10.
But the lessons learned from this season and the additional year of experience for their young roster could make them a playoff threat next season.
