When Jerryd Bayless played in Allen's stead, they outscored opponents by 21 points per 100 possessions. With Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Prince, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, the Grizz outscored their opponents by 12 points per 100 possessions. Of their top-five five-man floor units, the two best included Prince in the lineup. With Prince starting at the 3 instead of Gay, Memphis posted a slightly higher effective field-goal percentage while limiting opponents to an effective field-goal percentage of 2.2 percent less (per 82 ). But in fact, their defense got even better while their offense stayed consistent. This postseason, they have stormed into the Western Conference Finals by losing only three games to the high-flying Los Angeles Clippers and reigning conference champions Okahoma City Thunder.Ĭonventional wisdom held that the Grizzlies would struggle to score without Gay's skills as a swingman. David Locke after the Rudy Gay trade Memphis had the 3rd best record in the NBA and only lost 1 game at home.
