They Bringing Ugly Back

While the Golden State Warriors swept the Pelicans on Saturday and Stephen Curry was getting all the attention for his magical performance in the past two games, very quietly another team in the West was going about their business. Unlike the Warriors, this team plays a very old school, unsexy brand of Basketball. You won’t see them on the SportsCenter Top 10 plays and their players don’t get a whole lot of recognition but as a team, they can be  a nightmare. Of course, I’m talking about the one and only Memphis Grizzlies who went to Rose Garden and beat the highly overrated yet attention grabbing Portland Trailblazers with a third string Point Guard.

After Mike Conley and Beno Udrih who were both out with injury last night, it was time for former Florida sensation Nick Calathes to shine and did he ever. Calathes who has been a journeyman and played in Russia and Greece over his career has found his place in Memphis and put on a show Saturday night. Calathes finished the night with 13 points as Memphis beat 115-109. Up 3-0 in the series, a meeting with Golden State is just days away and Memphis has been flying under the radar due to the style they play, the Warriors are in for a real test.

The combo of Gasol and Randolph, combined with defensive ability of Tony Allen (watch out Steph) and the playmaking ability of Conley, combined with great role players in Courtney Lee, Calathes and Kosta koufos can ruin anyone's season and just because they don’t get love from the Media, doesn’t mean they should be ignored. The Grizzlies are bringing the ugly back.