Memphis 17-8 vs Pels 8-17

Our defense isn't bad Memphis is just the best

I ran out of excuses for this team

Gasol is a better defensive anchor than Davis.

And their guys actually hit open 3s, we brick them.

I think they have a better bench. They also play more like a team, which begins and ends with the environment the coach makes. Fizz is a fantastic coach.

Mindset. It starts with the fans too.

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I think they have a better bench. They also play more like a team, which begins and ends with the environment the coach makes. Fizz is a fantastic coach.

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Yeah I am going with this. They have a solid coach but more importantly they are building their system and play around the parts they have, not the ones they wish they had, and the pieces they have, even depleted, make more sense.

They aren't running out a Frankenstein roster of misfit parts demanding perfection on both sides of the ball in a system that IMO takes a certain roster of athletes to really excel in. Then having the head coach lose his mind every other possession because that square peg didn't immediately fit in that round hole.

Synergy is a real thing. Plus its cliched but Gasol and Allen know how to win.

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Mindset. It starts with the fans too.

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It starts with the players, coaches and management. You want fans to show up, give a better product. Fans want to support a competitive team. I guarantee that if they'd be a decent team fans would rock the arena. We've seen it before.

It's Marc Gasol. He is quietly one of the most dominant players in basketball. Everything goes through him. He sets up the O and the D. If he's on the floor, we have a chance against anyone.

Zach Lowe today on ESPN.com

1. The genius of Marc Gasol

This freaking guy. During another improbable Grizz comeback against Portland last week, Gasol caught the ball at least 5 feet behind the 3-point arc while trailing a possession and realized no one was guarding him. He looked around, shrugged -- literally, the dude shrugged in the middle of a game -- and just jacked a 30-footer. Cash money.

Memphis is 7-2 since Mike Conley busted his back. That is insane. They larded up on sad-sacks like Philly, Orlando, and the Lakers, and we all kind of assumed the bottom would fall out against better competition. Then they rallied against Portland, and spanked the yappy Warriors. (Seriously: Golden State mean-mugged its way through a road win against an injury-riddled Utah team subsisting on Joe Ingles 3-pointers. Maybe just take the W and chill?)

This is the best story of the first 25 games, and it would not be happening without Gasol. During Conley's absence, Memphis has blitzed teams by almost 15 points per 100 possessions with Gasol on the floor -- and wilted into a D-League outfit when he sits, per NBA.com. His calculating, careful game holds up well in crunch time, and the Grizzlies, for what feels like the seventh straight season, are squeezing out wins in almost every close game.

It has been fascinating to watch a natural sharer get a little bit selfish because his ravaged team needs it. Gasol is shouldering the heaviest scoring burden of his career, setting up shop on the left block and waiting to see if opponents double him. If they don't, he'll bulldoze into the lane for a short hook. Sit on that move, and he'll turn over his left shoulder, fade away along the baseline, and draw rain with perhaps the most telegenic post move in the league (at least while Dirk Nowitzki's one-footed special is on ice).

Gasol is venturing a little out of his comfort zone as a shoot-first alpha dog, and he's thriving. He remains a brilliant passer; he's on pace for one of the highest assist rates ever from a big man. Gasol should be in the conversation for a No. 4 or No. 5 spot on MVP ballots.

Players know. Talk to rivals about Gasol, and they'll tell you he's even better than you realize.