Apr 22, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (right) and Los Angeles Clippers power forward Lamar Odom (7) battle for a rebound in the first half of game two in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Memphis Grizzlies remind you of how the NBA use to be.

Nowadays the game is all about how fast your team can get up and down the court and see how hot your shooters can get. The Grizzlies, however, take a much different approach.

Memphis ranked 26th in the league in scoring this season,averaging 93.4 points. But they were the only team that held opponents under 90 PPG. They traded away their All-Star leading scorer and got a lanky 33-year-old has-been in return. Then they traded two of their best bench players, Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington, to Cleveland for the great Jon Leuer. And to make the trade a little more lopsided, Memphis threw in a future lottery pick. And their head coach, Lionel Hollins, who has led this franchise to the playoffs three straight years, will see his contact expireat the end of the season, and if the two sides don’t work out an agreement, Hollins will have many teams intrigued who are looking for a head coach.

This team is made up of a group of honey badgers. It doesn’t matter what their rank is, they aren’t scared of any team in the league. This team – the players and coaches – have carried out this mentality, making them the wildcard in the playoffs.

They’re reminding the NBA that the league isn’t all about shooting 3s and pounding the ball down low to their bigs.  he Zach Randolph-Blake Griffin matchup is always a fun one to watch, and this series is no different. Griffin has gone on to be one of the league’s top power forwards, butI’m starting to learn this: it doesn’t matter who you are, Randolph and the rest of the Grizzlies are going to beat you down.

The league’s Defensive Player of the Year, Marc Gasol, has been playing up to his reputation this series. His counterpart, DeAndre Jordan, isn’t an offensive threat, but he has been doing his best keeping Chris Paul out of the paint and settling for jump shots. Gasol was victim of some hard fouls late in Tuesday’s Game 5, but that didn’t spark a retaliation. He simply got up and shot his free throws to ice the game.

Gasol and Randolph aren’t your typical power forward-center duo, but they’re getting things done old school. The post duo will out-work you on offense and make you earn everything when they’re on defense.

Lets not forget about point guard Mike Conley (although some may know him as the kid who played with Greg Oden at Ohio State). In the playoffs Conley has been cooler than the other side of the pillow, not backing down for a second against the league’s best point guard. He hasn’t shot the greatest against the Clippers, but he is averaging 8.6 assists, more than Paul who is averaging 6assists.

Conley teams up with Tony Allen in the backcourt. Allen provides plenty of playoff experience and is one of the league’s best perimeter defenders. And the aforementioned “lanky” has-been is Tayshaun Prince. He also provides plenty of playoff experience after his time spent in Detroit,where is first NBA coach, Larry Brown, preached defense.Prince and Allen have disrupted the Clippers’ two-point guard offense, forcing over 13 turnovers per game.

The Grizzlies are leading the series 3-2 heading back to their home court, FedExForum, which is also known as “The Grindhouse” after Allen renamed it. This team is a grind-it-out, ball-hard, now-or-never, in-your-face and if-you’re-scared-go-to-church unit. It doesn’t matter what team they play or what seed they are in the playoffs. The Memphis Grizzlies are going to make teams play their best basketball for 48 minutes if they want to advance.

Feb 6, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luke Walton (4) and point guard Shaun Livingston (14) celebrate in the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Bobcats at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The unknown virus continues to make its way through the Cavaliers’ organization and has hit All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving – he is listed as doubtful for tonight’s game.  In his place will be Shaun Livingston.  Although the point guard role won’t be limited to only Livingston, Dion Waiters is expected to be in charge of the offense a good part of the night.  Daniel Gibson will also be relied on for additional minutes.  Injuries have hit the Memphis Grizzlies as well and their starting power forward Zach Randolph will be a game time decision after missing Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors.

Statistics

Advanced Statistics

Four Factors

Players to Watch:

Cavaliers: Shaun Livingston

1. 5.9 points per game

2. 13.3 PPG in his three starts this season

3. 3.7 assists to turnover ratio

Opponent: Marc Gasol

1. 14.1 points per game

2. 7.9 rebounds per game

3. 5.9 assists per game

Key Matchup: Dion Waiters vs. Tony Allen

With Irving out another game, Waiters will be the go-to man on offense.  With Allen likely being the man to guard Waiters tonight, nothing will come easy for him.  Allen is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and plays on the best defense in the NBA.  With Irving being out the last part of February, Waiters averaged over 20 points per game.

Feb 24, 2013; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets center Andray Blatche (0) during the fourth quarter of an NBA game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

When the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Memphis Grizzles tonight, it will be the first time Marresse Speights and Wayne Ellington will take on the their former Memphis teammates. Both men have become key components of this Cavaliers team and have been key in the recent improvements in the Cavaliers quality of play. Memphis, meanwhile, is 11-4 since trading star Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors. As it stands now, the Grizzlies are the fourth place team in the Western Conference.

Opponent’s Blog:  Beale Street Bears

Venue: Quicken Loans Arena

Tipoff: 7:30 P.M

Betting Line: Grizzlies by 5 ½

Where you can watch: Fox Sports Ohio

Where you can listen: WTAM (1100), WFUN (970 AM)

Stylistically, this is a tough game for the Cavaliers. Up front, Memphis has two strong post players in center Marc Gasol and power forward Zach Randolph. Combined, the duo is averaging 19.5 rebounds. They are very good at controlling the paint on both ends, and against this Cavaliers team, expect to see that continue. With Tyler Zeller not being the most physical center, and Tristan Thompson giving up 33 pounds to Randolph, the Cavaliers will definitely be at a disadvantage on the inside.

On positive note, Randolph is going to be a game time decision for Memphis. If he is out, Memphis is much weaker up front that normal, and a vulnerable position becomes a strong point for Cleveland.

Like it is on most nights, the Cavaliers will have an advantage at the point guard position. Mike Conley has been solid for Memphis, but he won’t have a chance to stay in front of Kyrie Irving. If he can have a good game, and stay hot from the start, it will help the Cavaliers win this game.

The X-Factor here is the bench. With Speights, Ellington, C.J. Miles and company all coming off a strong game against the Jazz, there is a chance the Cavaliers can keep that momentum up and do big things with the bench.

One area the Cavaliers will need to improve on is their fast break scoring. The Cavaliers are at their best when they can run in the open floor and push the tempo of the game. They need to get Irving in the open where he can feed Miles and Ellington on the wings, while Zeller runs the middle and Thompson, Speights and Alonzo Gee get to the basket. Ideally, Dion Waiters will also be active tonight, adding another dimension to the Cavaliers offense.

If this week has shown me anything, the Cavaliers can compete with the leagues best. They beat the Jazz, currently a playoff team in the West, and almost beat the Knicks before collapsing in the second half. And In both of those games, the Cavaliers were without Waiters, who has quickly become of the Cavaliers go-scorers.

All in all, it’s going to be hard for the Cavaliers to win this game – especially if Randolph plays. But they can definitely win this game. They just need everything to go correctly and do really well in the fast break – and pray to the heavens that Irving does not have an off night.