More Proof that Bears are Dangerous

The San Antonio Spurs record at the end of the regular season: 61-21: and earned the number 1 seed in the powerhouse Western Conference. Surely the The  8th seeded, Memphis Grizzlies, with a  record of 46-35 had almost no chance of upsetting the best of the west. Surely, the  former champion Spurs, would have no problem handling the young, inexperienced Grizzlies, who had not made the playoffs since the 2005-2006 season. The Spurs winning in the playoffs is about as regular as the sun rising.

But, as Memphis proved on Friday, the NBA playoff season is anything but regular.

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the San Antonio Spurs 99-91 on their home court in Game 6 to become the fourth number 8 seed ever beat the conference's number 1 seed. Last time this happened? Actually it was not that long ago. The Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games during the 2007 playoffs. However, the 2007 Warriors and the Grizzlies of today couldn't be more different in their styles of play. Golden State was a high octane, really good transition, and live-and-die-by-the-3 team. These Grizzlies are big inside, athletic on the perimeter, and very well coached. A deadly combination for almost anyone to handle; much less an old, hurt, Spurs team that was out of sync from the jump.

Memphis simply beat the Spurs up in the paint. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol averaged 39 points and  19 rebounds between the two of them in each of their team's wins. The Grizz held the Spurs to 93 point per game while scoring 98 points per game. Key defenders Tony Allen and Shane Battier clamped down on the Spurs top scorers Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins out coached one of the League's best in Greg Popovich. The Grizzlies won every battle throughout the course of the series.

On the other side of this story sit the San Antonio Spurs. A team that re tooled its entire offense to a transition game because Tim Duncan is not the same player he used to be. A lot of people are questioning whether or not this core of San Antonio is done.

In a word: Yes

The average age of the Spurs best players, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Tony Parker and Antonio McDyess is 32. Duncan and McDyess are on the downside of their careers. Manu and Parker can't stay healthy. And Jefferson and Parker have a frightening tendency to disappear during certain games. And the rest of the Spurs are all good role players, but none of them are capable of carrying a team. Duncan should do the Spurs a favor and retire so management can blow the rest of the team up and start over.

The Grizz have given the people of Memphis some good news in the world of sports for a change. The most memorable sports stories out of The Volunteer state in recent memory have been Vince Young and Lane Kiffin getting run out of town. So Memphis fans can soak in a very nice sports story for today before facing the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.