NBA Strikes Out With Small Market Conference Finals

After the Indiana Pacers received every ounce of favoritism from the referees in order to advance past the demoralized Knicks, it  has come down to four teams left to compete for American basketball's top prize, the NBA title. San Antonio and Memphis will kick off what is sure to be a competitive Western Conference Finals series this afternoon. Meanwhile, Indiana and Miami will square off in South Beach in game one the East Finals on Monday. Despite the teams being somewhat interesting to watch, the NBA will have a major problem trying to get people to maintain an interest in these games, considering that three out of the four teams represent small markets.

Following the 2011 lockout, NBA commissioner David Stern has worked hard to make the league more competitive, and with the help of the new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) structure the league to be more small-market friendly, disallowing teams from exceeding the salary cap without paying an enormous luxury tax. One of the main causes of the labor negotiations that took place between the players, owners, and league office in 2011 was disgruntled ownership in smaller markets who felt that they had no chance to compete with the Knicks, Lakers, Bulls, and Heat. Now, small market teams suddenly have hope, and we the fans have a glimpse at what the NBA could look like in the coming years. Suddenly, its possible to envision finals between Indiana and Memphis, Minnesota and Cleveland, and New Orleans and Charlotte.

Brooklyn native Lance Stephenson celebrates Indiana's game six victory over his hometown Knicks

Although this new-found parity around the league sounds great, it also suddenly means that we can look forward to more finals match-ups that lack interest from the most important markets in the NBA, those being L.A., New York, and Chicago. Without the interest from those markets, NBA ratings will be sure to sink faster than rocks. Suddenly, teams like the Pacers and Grizzlies can think about building championship contenders year-after-year that could potentially oust teams from bigger markets. What this suggests, is that the small market teams in the league are just as important as the large market teams, and this is simply not the case. If teams from New York and Los Angeles can spend more money to make themselves better, let them do it. Those are the cities that hold the key to the prosperity of the league, not Indianapolis and Memphis.

When small market teams complain that they have no ability to compete financially with big market teams, they must consider the fact that the big markets are what drive, not only professional basketball, but America's economy in general. When ratings for these games begin to flounder, Stern can only blame himself for giving in to the whining ownership of small-market teams that claimed they couldn't stay afloat with the, then current, structuring of the league. Instead of downsizing the league, and removing some of these irrelevant cities from the basketball map, he has handed over the reins to them, and now fans in America's biggest cities must sit back and watch teams from much smaller ones battle for hoops supremacy.

Memphis Blues

On February 1st, the Memphis Grizzlies knocked off the Washington Wizards by a score 85-76 down in Tennessee. Tonight, the Grizzlies made their lone trip to the Verizon Center for their final meeting of the season with the Wizards, who had won 5 of their last 7 games. Memphis was shorthanded coming into tonight's contest, missing Marc Gasol with a lower abdominal strain.

Now in his third season with Memphis, Grizzlies swing-man Tony Allen is averaging 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 27.3 minutes per game.

Memphis acquired forward Austin Daye from the Detroit Pistons as part of the three-team deal that sent Rudy Gay to Toronto.

Allen lines up a jumper during pregame warmups

Memphis acquired forward Jon Leuer from the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this season in exchange for Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, and Josh Selby.

Grizzlies forward Quincy Pondexter has averaged 6.5 points in 21.6 minutes per game this season in Memphis.

The Wizards were also plagued by injury, and in the case of Trevor Ariza, the flu. Bradley Beal remained out with a sprained ankle. Nene sat out with a sore right knee, and Martell Webster was sidelined with an abdomen strain.

It was a taciturn crowd. Inclement weather seemed to prevent about half of the 17,868 from showing up to the arena. A springtime snowstorm had blanketed the city in white, causing poor driving conditions. The Verizon Center fans had never seemed so unengaged, but fortunately, John Wall was there to engage them.

Wizards forward Cartier Martin tries to elevate over Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph

John Wall is defended by Quincy Pondexter

Wall drives on Tony Allen

Wall goes up against Grizzlies defenders Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince

Wall shoots over Grizzlies guard Jerryd Bayless

Zach Randolph gets the technical foul

Randolph proceeded to toss his headband into the crowd out of frustration.

Wall drives to the basket against reeling Grizzlies forward Ed Davis

Wall looks to pass over the top of Jerryd Bayless and Ed Davis

Bayless reaches in for the steal on Wall

Wizards center Emeka Okafor takes the jumper

Wall was nothing but smiles after dropping 47 on the Grizz.

Wall gets a hi-five from Cartier Martin after scoring a career-high 47 points.

Wall takes time to acknowledge cheers from the crowd

Wall scored a career-high 47 points to go along with 8 assists and 7 rebounds, as the Wizards cruised to a 107-94 victory over the Grizzlies. Wall's stellar performance captivated an arena in which you could hear a pin drop to start the game. Emeka Okafor added 21 points and 9 assists, taking full advantage of Marc Gasol's absence from the lineup.

Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 23 points. Jerryd Bayless and Quincy Pondexter each added 14. It was a frustrating night for Zach Randolph, who only managed 10 points and 7 rebounds, and committed 4 of the Grizzlies 16 turnovers.

The Wizards will travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder on Wednesday night.

Grizzlies Claw Past Wizards

For the second leg of their three game road trip, the Washington Wizards traveled to Memphis to take on the 29-16 Grizzlies. The Grizzlies had undergone a transformation since the beginning of the season, trading their leading scorer Rudy Gay and backup center Hamed Haddadi to the Toronto Raptors in a 3 team deal. In return, Memphis received forward Ed Davis from the Raptors, along with forwards Tayshaun prince and Austin Daye from the Pistons. Additionally, Memphis had traded forward Marreese Speights, along with guards Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby to Cleveland for forward Jon Leuer. It's believed that both deals were made as a measure to avoid stiff penalties resulting from new luxury tax implications outlined in the NBA's new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The Wizards continued their road woes with a loss in Philly on Wednesday night. Washington has struggled mightily away from home, winning just 3 games away from the Verizon Center all season.

Washington jumped out to an early advantage, leading 30-23 at the end of the 1st quarter, but Memphis stormed back to cut the lead to 1 going into the half.


The Grizzlies would eventually capture the lead in the 3rd quarter, going into the 4th with a 5 point lead, and holding on for a comfortable 85-76 win.

Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph drives on Wizards forward Trevor Booker (Photo by Spruce Derden- USA Today Sports)

Mike Conley led Memphis with 18 points and 6 assists. Tayshaun Prince contributed 14 points off the bench in his first game as a member of the Grizzlies.

Nene was the only Wizard to break double digits, scoring 14 points and doling out 6 assists.