Grizzlies clinch playoff berth

There are three important questions to ponder about that openingstatement.

"Is there really a need for 16 teams in the playoffs?" "Why onEarth do they last until mid-June?" and "How did the Grizzlies getinto the playoffs?"

The first two questions are closely related.

The NBA invites over half the league to participate in theplayoffs, not exactly an exclusive invitation.

This year, the playoffs will feature the incredible New OrleansHornets (40-40 with two games remaining) and the stupendous NewYork Knicks (38-42 with two games remaining).

It gets worse.

The Boston Celtics will also join the fun, with their sterling35-45 record. In some European soccer leagues, teams with a recordthat bad would be dropped into a lower league the following season,not rewarded with a playoff appearance.

Because of the vaunted first round matchup between Boston andIndiana and others like them, the NBA playoffs go on forever.

There is good news, however. Even with all those teams, thereare still a few things that took longer to finish than theplayoffs. There's the ancient pyramids, The Pyramid itself and theTiger's FedExForum negotiations, to name a few, but it's a shortlist.�

With the inclusion of so many bad teams, it might not besurprising that the Memphis Grizzlies made the playoffs this year.But what is shocking is that the Grizzlies are one of the goodteams.

One of the very good teams.

In the brutal Midwest Division of the Western Conference, theGriz played San Antonio, Dallas and Minnesota a combined 12times.

And they still won 50 games.

In fact, since Jan 1., the Grizzlies are 37-13 and have the bestrecord in the Western Conference.

Since that time, the Grizzlies are 6-2 against the top fiveteams in the West.

For three months, the Griz have been proving they belong.

They've won with tough defense, a quick strike offense and abench as deep as Alex Rodriguez's pockets. The Griz lead the leaguein bench scoring, forced turnovers, blocks and steals, allowingtheir quick guards and forwards to run out and get easybaskets.

Under coach Hubie Brown, the Grizzlies play the gamecorrectly.

While many teams employ hand-to-hand combat techniques to wingames, when at their best, the Grizzlies overwhelm the oppositionwith quickness and fluidity.

What's more, the Griz had the depth in the regular season toplay hard for 48 minutes, which separates them from almost everyother NBA team.

The playoffs, however, are a different animal.

As it stands now, the Grizzlies will probably play the Lakers orSpurs in the first round. Both teams are widely considered two ofthe top four favorites to win the championship.

Also, teams no longer conserve energy, which could neutralizethe Grizzlies biggest advantage. Instead, the Grizzlies will haveto win with execution, rather than stamina.

Add to that the fact that the Grizzlies have no prior playoffexperience and the doubts begin to grow.� In their last nineseasons, the Grizzlies have been out of the playoff hunt byNovember.

Before this season, last year's 28 victories was the high watermark for the Grizzlies.

While those numbers might squeeze you in to the EasternConference playoffs, in the West, 28 wins is just two goodmonths.

This year there were thoughts that maybe the Grizzlies could win30 or 35 games. But winning 50 games was impossible to predict.

So what does Memphis have to combat the heightened intensity ofopponents, tough competition and lack of playoff experience?

Fate, karma, team chemistry, James Posey and all of those otherintangibles that have made this team greater than the sum of itsparts.

Will it be enough?

My fearless (and worthless) prediction: The Grizzlies will losetheir first round series in seven games.

But they've been breaking the Naismith's laws of basketballprobability all season, so who's to say the improbable run couldn'tcontinue.

Heck, if Boston can make the playoffs, anything is possible.