The Memphis Grizzlies lost sixth-man O.J. Mayo in the offseason, but kept Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley Jr together. Josh Selby and rookie Tony Wroten will now help to man the shooting guard position and spell the defensive minded Tony Allen.
Gay and Randolph should provide the team with most of their scoring and with Conely improving as a distributor they should be better off without Mayo. Jerryd Bayless also provided the team with a solid three-point shooting. He averaged 42.3 percent from the three-point line last season in Toronto. The Grizzlies only averaged 32.6 percent from behind the arc and ranked twenty-seventh in the NBA.
The grizzlies scoring should be helped by Conley's development as player. Conley averaged 6.5 assist per game last season and that number should improve with the health of Gay and Randolph. Conely also provided the Grizzlies with a couple of steals per game last year averaging 2.2 steals.
The most important factor for the team's success is a healthy Gay and Randolph, who both had their seasons hampered by injuries last year. If with these injuries the Grizzlies still took the upstart Clippers to seven games, before losing the decisive game at home.
Marc Gasol earned an All-Star nomination last season and averaged 14.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He is also an excellent big-man from the line averaging 74.8 percent. His big season may have been a result of Randolph's injury, but he should still provided Memphis with a great third option.
According to NBA 2K13, The Grizzlies will take a step back this season and enter the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western conference. The Grizzlies lost nine of their final ten games. Memphis will face last year's Western Conference champs in the first round. The Grizzlies enter the series missing both Gasol and Gay and are easily dispatched in a four game sweep.
Here is how the game simulates the Grizzlies' season:
Regular Season Record: 41-41 Eighth in the Western Conference
Top scorers: PF Zach Randolph 13.9 PPG, C Marc Gasol 14.1 PPG, SF Rudy Gay 21.9 PPG
Leading rebounders: SG Tony Allen 2.9 RPG, PF Zach Randolph 9.1 RPG, C Marc Gasol 9.4 RPG
Assist Leader: SG Kevin Martin 3.7 APG, PG Jerryd Bayless 3.9 APG, PG Mike Conley 9.0 APG
Playoff Opponents
Round 1: Oklahoma City Thunder, Thunder win the series 4-0
Round 2: Did not qualify
Conference Finals: Did not qualify
NBA Finals: Did not qualify
Check out our other NBA 2K13 team previews:
Miami Heat
Oklahoma City Thunder
San Antonio Spurs
Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers
Philadelphia 76ers
New York Knicks
Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls
Los Angeles Clippers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Portland Trail Blazers
Cleveland Cavaliers
Washington Wizards
Denver Nuggets
Phoenix Suns
Houston Rockets
Orlando Magic
Atlanta Hawks
