Rise of the Underdog

Not much is expected from an 8th seed in the NBA playoffs. Not only do you have to scratch, inch and fight to barely make the postseason, but you now have to beat a championship contender in a 7-game series. Enter: The 2011 Memphis Grizzlies. Lead by the best "non-dunking" big man in the league, Zach Randolph, the Grizz not only got their first playoff win in franchise history this year, but they also became the fourth 8th-seed to upset a 1-seed. Z-Bo and Mac Gasol owned the paint throughout the series as the young and restless Memphis squad beating the Spurs in 6 games. Some speculated that the Grizz purposely lost games during the end of the regular season in order to face the aging Spurs, rather than the defending champion LA Lakers (can't say I blame em). Nevertheless, coming in with a "nothing to lose, everything to gain" attitude, they became part of playoff history. The first round wasn't a fluke either. They went the distance with the heavily favored OKCThunder only to fall short in gm 7. Butwith youth on there side, my basketball instincts tell me Memphis will finish higher than an eight seed in 2012.

oh yea did I mention they achieve this with Rudy Gay out for the season?