The Memphis Grizzlies Will Win the NBA Championship

The Memphis Grizzlies will win this year's Larry O'Brien Trophy. A month ago I would have laughed at that statement. I thought the Grizzlies would get knocked out in the first round by the Los Angeles Clippers. The more and more I watch this team, the more I realize they might have the best squad to beat any team that's left in the playoffs. They will likely lose tonight in game five, but I'm expecting them to finish off the Thunder in six.

The Grizzlies will then face either the Spurs or Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, and in both cases I think they will be able to come out victorious. I picked the Spurs at the beginning of the season and stuck with them all year, but they have been struggling to finish off a young Warriors team that has really emerged in the playoffs this year. The Grizz have the best big-man combo in the playoffs with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph down low and on paper will give both the Spurs and Warriors a lot of match-up problems.

The Miami Heat have been on fire the last couple of months and I don't see the Heat cooling off, pun intended. The Knicks and Pacers won't be able to hang with the Heat this year so the Heat should have a pretty easy road to the Finals after they finish off the Bulls tonight. As good as the Heat might be, I think the Grizzlies might be the perfect squad to dethrone them this year. If you think it's impossible, another team less than a decade ago did just about the same thing so all the Grizzlies have to do is follow the blueprint.

The 2004 Pistons weren't really given any chance to win that year's NBA Finals and upset the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. If you look at that Pistons team and compare them to this year's Grizzlies you will see a lot of similarities, especially the starting small forward that the Grizzlies acquired during the season.

Tayshaun Prince had always been a great defender while with the Pistons and has been able to mesh very well with the Grizzlies thus far. Prince has been a great addition to the Grizzlies and has brought them the added defense that the Grizzlies needed. As good as Rudy Gay is, Prince fits in a lot better with the Grizzlies system that focuses more on defense and spreading the ball.

Both teams had great defense all-around with anchors in the middle in NBA Defensive Players of the Year in Ben Wallace and Marc Gasol ('04 was the only year in a five-year span that Wallace didn't actually win the award). Both Wallace and Gasol protect the baskets very well and make things much easier for everyone around them with their help defense.

Zach Randolph and Rasheed Wallace might actually be the same guy. Both guys had troubled careers prior to joining the Pistons and Grizzlies and were traded away multiple times because of off the court problems. Neither guy is really known for their defense, but both made strides in improving while with their teams. Both Randolph and Wallace are two of the best offensive power forwards as they can post-up as well as shoot mid-range jumpers.

The '04 Pistons had "Mr. Big Shot," and Mike Conley Jr. is slowly becoming the same guy for the Grizzlies. Conley Jr. has never really gotten the attention that he deserved as he was in the shadows in college behind Greg Oden and then again when he joined the small market Grizzlies. Conley Jr. had his best season of his career in 2013; averaging 14.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.2 steals per contest. In this year's postseason he has stepped up his offensive production and is averaging 18.1 points and 7.3 points per game.

The last member of the Grizzlies starting lineup is Tony Allen. While he doesn't stack up with the scoring of the Pistons' "Rip" Hamilton, Allen is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, if not the best. He's been voted to the All-Defensive First Team two years in a row and has been able to keep each team's best perimeter scorer in check.

When I look at the possible NBA Finals match-up of the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat, all I can do is smile. The Grizzlies have great wing defenders in Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince that will have the task of guarding Wade and LeBron, and Marc Gasol will take care of Chris Bosh in the paint. The Grizzlies will likely surprise most people by winning this year's NBA Championship, but they won't be surprising me.