Open Thread: Memphis 33-man roster takes me back to 2016 Grizzlies
I once made a trip to the birthplace of rock n’ roll to cheer on our Spurs in the playoffs
When the Spurs played Memphis last night, the Grizzlies had just signed their thirty-third player of the season, giving them a whopping eight available for their matchup against the Silver & Black.
It reminded me of the 2016 NBA season when the Grit-and-Grind Grizzlies ended up in the playoffs with a depleted roster, sliding their way into the playoffs on a 1-10 losing streak.
My mother-in-law was living in Chicago at the time and had been planning to make the move to San Antonio to be closer to our family. Her window of time perfectly aligned with Fiesta, meaning I had an extra day off from work, so I flew up Thursday night with plans of loading her belongings into a rental truck and heading back to San Antonio with enough time to be back at work on Monday morning.
As it happened, the Spurs were playing the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2016 playoffs and Game 3 was taking place during my drive back to Texas.
The absence of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, their two best players, and an overall injury riddled season where they had an NBA record 28 players on the roster left the team virtually hopeless. They were simply out of gas and outmatched through and through.
Zach Randolph valiantly led a cobbled team into the post season. With a core of the few remaining yearlong teammates Zebo (Zach Randolph), Vince Carter, Tony Allen, Matt Barnes and JaMychel Green, the Grizzlies made late additions of Chris Andersen, Jordan Farmar, Lance Stephenson, and Xavier Munford in hopes of eking out a postseason miracle.
With an eight hours drive from Chicago to Memphis, and eight hours until tip off, I had no time to spare. I was driving as fast as a fully loaded twenty foot U-Haul allowed.
I pulled into Memphis minutes before tip-off and saw exactly what I needed. An unofficial lot run by a guy with a tattered reflective construction vest and a low beam flashlight. I asked him if I could park a truck this size and he told me to back up against what appeared to be an unoccupied building. $20, I was set for the night. I parked, changed into my Spurs shoes, and started the short walk to the FedEx Forum.
As I made my way to the entrance I scoped out a sports bar or alternate location on the chance that the game was sold out and I couldn’t pay scalper prices. At the box office, I got the best news.
“I have one ticket in the lower section. It’s normally $150, but tonight you can have it for $50.”
Score.
The night belonged to Kawhi Leonard who led all scorers with 32. Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies with 20 points. But the score wasn’t the takeaway. The series was decided before it ever began. The Spurs were destined to head into the Western Conference Semifinals.
The game ended and we all headed into the night. That part was predictable. As I reached my chariot I realized something – not one fan heckled me for being decked out in Spurs gear. No one even looked at me funny. Everyone I had encountered throughout the night had been wonderfully polite. I was a guest in their arena and they weren’t going to let me leave Memphis with a bad taste in my mouth.
There was something more, something I couldn’t put my finger on at the time. But it became clear faster than I now want to admit. Two days later, the Spurs completed the sweep in Memphis. Nineteen days after that, we all watched what turned out to be Tim Duncan’s final NBA game.
And less than a month later we witnessed the end of an era as The Big Fundamental tastefully announced his retirement.
I had no idea as I drove out of Tennessee that night was my last to see the Big 3 play together.
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