Zach Randolph’s late basket lifts Grizzlies over the Lakers. (GETTY IMAGES)

Zach Randolph made a 3-foot basket with 16 seconds left to give the Memphis Grizzlies an 86-83 lead on their way to an 89-86 win against the Los Angeles Lakers Friday at Staples Center.

Randolph scored 14 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies outscored the Lakers, 26-20, to get their first win of the year on the road (1-3). Memphis improved to 4-5 overall.

“I thought we played as hard as we could, ” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said at his postgame press conference. “Zach hit some big shots, I’ve known him for 10 years and he’s a load.”

Jodie Meeks pumped in a season-high 25 points for L.A., dropping to 4-7 with the loss. He made 10-of-16 field goals, including 5-of-9 on 3-pointers.

“We got the shots we wanted,” he said to Time Warner Cable SportsNet’s Jon Ireland. “Steve did a great job of finding me, I tried to move a lot without the ball. Just a lot of hard work and dedication [on my part].”

Meeks was just 1-of-5 for three points in the Lakers’ 111-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. But, he has the mindset of a shooter and scorer. He was on fire from the field against Memphis’ Tony Allen, who has a reputation as one of the strongest defenders in the NBA.

“We don’t have Kobe, we have to find a way to score,” D’Antoni said. “He’s not going to be here for the near future.”

Nick Young scored 18 points, Jordan Hill added 10 points and five rebounds, Pau Gasol chipped in with 10 points and 13 rebounds, but he continues a season-long struggle shooting the ball. He converted just 4-of-12 field goals and is making just 39% on the season. Steve Blake scored 9 points, dished out 10 assists, grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals.

Hill and Williams spearheaded a strong defensive effort. Hill and Williams blocked three shots and snagged a steal. It was the Lakers’ best defensive effort all season, albeit in a loss.

“The defense played well,” D’Antoni said. “They played better, there were just some little things that separated the two teams tonight.”

Marc Gasol added 18 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and three steals. Allen scored 12 points.

Darren Jacks is a regular contributor to OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @djroxalot.

Roy Hibbert powered the Pacers into the Eastern Conference finals. (GETTY IMAGES)

The NBA slogan “Go Big or Go Home” definitely applies to the 2013 playoffs because three of the four teams left have one thing in common: They’re big.

The Indiana Pacers are in the Eastern Conference finals thanks in large part to 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert. The Memphis Grizzlies are in the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history because of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, arguably the best center-power forward tandem in the Association. The San Antonio Spurs are back in the West finals for the eighth time in Tim Duncan’s 16-year career mainly because of the emergence of 6-11 center Tiago Splitter.

The Miami Heat are the only team left in the 2013 playoffs that prefers small ball, but they have four-time league MVP LeBron James. What makes Miami the exception to the rule is LeBron’s ability to fill two roles: power forward and point guard. LeBron is not only the best power forward in basketball, but he’s also the best point-forward in basketball.

For the past few years NBA coaches have become enamored with small lineups, moving small forwards to the power forward spot and turning shooting guards into small forwards. The term “stretch 4” is like that new mobile app everyone is downloading, as more and more teams look for big men who prefer to play out in the perimeter instead of the low post.

But like all trends, they tend to fade away. Remember the “wildcat” offense in the NFL? It was so popular two years ago, now you hardly see it. The same can be said about “small ball” in the NBA. It took off during the 2004-05 season when Mike D’Antoni unveiled it in Phoenix and several teams embraced it, including the last two NBA champions: Dallas and Miami.

Entering the 2013 playoffs, the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, and the Oklahoma City Thunder all ran a variation of the small-ball concept. They play an up-tempo, exciting brand of basketball that seemingly filtered around the league. However, all of them are now home watching the playoffs.

Small ball has taken a huge hit this postseason, none more evident than the New York-Indiana series in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Knicks were absolutely pounded on the boards by the big, bad Pacers with a traditional frontline that includes Hibbert, 6-9 power forward David West, and 6-10 small forward Paul George. The size and length of the Pacers eventually wore down the Knicks, as Indy won the series in six games. The Knicks’ bread-and-butter was the 3-point shot, and when that was taken away they struggled to score points.

“You always construct your team to beat the world champions, which is the Miami Heat. But nobody thought about the Indiana Pacers,” Knicks superfan Spike Lee said on ESPN’s First Take. “We were not constructed to deal with them dudes. They’re too big, too strong, and they’re young. So, we were looking at Miami but were sleeping on the Pacers.”

The Pacers pounded the Knicks on the boards, outrebounding them 269-222 in the series. After the Pacers outworked the Knicks 53-40 in Game 3, New York coach Mike Woodson ditched his small-ball starting lineup in favor of a more traditional lineup, as he paired Kenyon Martin with Tyson Chandler. But it didn’t matter who Woodson threw out there. Hibbert and West were too much. Hibbert was a beast on both ends, tipping in missed shots on offense and shutting down Knicks drives on defense.

“The beauty of this team is we really don’t adjust to other teams,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “We do what we do in terms of our starting lineup and our rotations.”

The signature play of the series came with five minutes left in the fourth quarter of Game 6 and the Knicks ahead 92-90. Carmelo Anthony spun past George on the baseline and thought he had a clear path to the basket. Hibbert met him at the rim and rejected Anthony’s potential dunk with his left hand. That play sparked a 7-0 run by the Pacers and eventually closed out the Knicks’ season.

Hibbert was simply too big and too strong for the Knicks. That’s been the theme of this year’s playoffs.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant need to be at their absolute best for Oklahoma City to advance past the first round because former teammate James Harden will be highly motivated. (GETTY IMAGES)

The Western Conference is like an episode of “The Avengers.” It was action packed all season, and you had to be there at the end to get the full story.

Oklahoma City and San Antonio are the top two seeds, but both enter the playoffs with some question marks. The Spurs hobble into the postseason with a gimpy Tony Parker and gimpy Manu Ginobili. Parker was enjoying a MVP-type season before ankle and leg injuries derailed his season. Ginobili has been in and out of the lineup all season and he just returned from his hamstring injury. Then, in a very un-Spurs-like move, the team released veteran forward Stephen Jackson a week the before the playoffs start.

The Thunder have stayed relatively healthy all season, but they’re facing a different challenge this postseason. Anything less than a trip to the NBA Finals will be considered a failure in Oklahoma City, and the pressure falls squarely on the shoulders of four people: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Scott Brooks, and Sam Presti.

For Oklahoma City to win the title, Durant and Westbrook need to be great. They can’t be just OK. Also, Brooks will have to figure out a way to clean up the Thunder’s issues on defense, and Presti is praying that the James Harden gamble won’t blow up in his face.

Here’s how the West playoffs will unfold:

FIRST ROUND
(1) OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER VS. (8) HOUSTON ROCKETS
This is the worst possible first-round matchup for the Thunder. The Rockets can match the Thunder shot for shot and, oh by the way, Houston has James Harden. Remember him, Thunder fans. Harden will be extra motivated to be his old pals Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and what a boon would it be for Harden to knock off his former team out of the playoffs. This series could easily go seven games and it’s a good thing the Rockets don’t play defense because that’s about the only saving grace for OKC. Prediction: Thunder in 7

(2) SAN ANTONIO SPURS VS. (7) LOS ANGELES LAKERS
For the first time in the recent history of this epic showdown between the West powers, the Spurs won’t have to deal with Kobe Bryant in the series. That’s good news in San Antonio because Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are both hurting. It evens up the playing field. The first two games of the series will tell a lot if this matchup will go the distance. If the Spurs jump out to a 2-0 lead, then the Lakers could go home early. But if the Lakers somehow earn a split in San Antonio, then the Spurs better prepare for a long series. Magic Johnson has already predicted a Lakers win over the Spurs. That’s bad news for the Lakers because Magic has never been good at making forecasts. Prediction: Spurs in 5

(3) DENVER NUGGETS VS. (6) GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Talk about your track-meet series! The Warriors love to play fast, but the Nuggets play faster. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson love to rain threes, but the Nuggets love to score points in the paint. Injuries to key players will play a huge factor in this matchup. Golden State has no shot if center Andrew Bogut doesn’t play. But if Kenneth Faried’s bum ankle keeps him out, then this series is up for grabs. Both are excellent home teams with superb home crowds. Denver has been nearly unbeatable at the Pepsi Center, and that should be enough to advance. Prediction: Nuggets in 6

(4) LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS VS. (5) MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
In a rematch of last year’s epic seven-game series, the Grizzlies trot out a new lineup to try to exact revenge on the team that sent them home a year ago. The Grizzlies believe they have a better team entering the playoffs because volume shooter Rudy Gay is now in Toronto, and Zach Randolph is now the No. 1 option. The Clippers will try to push the tempo, while the Griz will try to slow it down and pound it inside to Randolph and Marc Gasol. The key matchup lies at the point where Mike Conley goes head-to-head with All-Star guard Chris Paul. Whichever point guard plays better will see their team advance. Prediction: Clippers in 7

A physically fit Raymond Felton provides the New York Knicks with a healthy backcourt. (GETTY IMAGES)

The NBA season is still a little early, but there are some very interesting developments.

What a difference a 7-1 start makes

The New York Knicks were mocked and made fun of when they decided to go with Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd as their new backcourt. Well, well, well. Nobody is laughing now.

Felton was clearly out of shape last season with the potential lockout having many NBA’ers playing at less than their usual level. He didn’t seem comfortable in Portland and the losing that was going on in the City of Roses, but he is playing lights out for NY (15.5 points per game and 6.5 assists per game).

Jason Kidd has played more of a marksman role next to Felton in a smaller backcourt. But, it has paid huge dividends for them. Kidd is shooting 54.3% and 52% on 3-pointers. He isn’t going to maintain that obviously, but he has come a long way from the days when he was called Ason Kidd because he didn’t have a J.

Ronnie Brewer has also been a solid player as the third guard/small forward with Melo playing power forward. He’s a very good defender and a hustle guy.

The Knicks were also mocked when they brought in Kurt Thomas, Marcus Camby and convinced Rasheed Wallace to come out of retirement. Wallace has slowly worked his way into playing shape and contributed some valuable minutes off the bench. Sheed has had three games where he scored at least 10 points and is shooting 46.5%.

A new contender out West

The Los Angeles Clippers went out and added a whole new bench. Last year, they had Randy Foye and this year their sixth man is Jamal Crawford. The difference is like night and day.

Foye averaged 9.8 points off the bench and so far Crawford is scoring 20.7 points (52.2% and 44%). But, that isn’t the only difference. Crawford brings some swag, also known as confidence down the stretch. Crawford will take the big shots someone else on the Clippers likes to take. “Mr Big Shot” himself, Chauncey Billups.

Crawford is a cold-blooded assassin who is not afraid to take big shots.

A healthy Eric Bledsoe also gives them a great 1-2 punch at point guard along with All-Star Chris Paul. Bledsoe has been playing extremely well (10.6 points and 2.8 assists) and has to strike fear in the opposing coaches’ gameplan.

Once Billups and Grant Hill get healthy, the Clippers will have a team that can go 10 deep.

Houston Rockets

There was some outrage over Jeremy Lin being given a poison-pill contract when he was offered a back-loaded deal that all but killed his chances of re-signing with the New York Knicks.

Many said it was crazy because he doesn’t have the traditional strengths of most point guards. Lin is off to a slow start offensively, averaging just under 11 points per game, but he hasn’t found his shot just yet this season. However, he is averaging 6.7 assists per game and 2.3 steals per game. More surprising is he has shown he can rebound better than he did last year in Gotham (he is averaging 4.7 rebounds). He should be able to bring up his 35.5% shooting percentage.

Omer Asik was a career backup with the Chicago Bulls and he was given a surprisingly rich contract for a player that hadn’t shown much. But, he has turned into a rebounding beast, averaging 13.2 boards. He’s also averaging 11 points and 1.2 blocks.

Both players are looking promising and James Harden has turned into a scoring machine.

Houston still has a max contract to offer next summer and could be a playoff team quicker than a lot of people thought after losing out on the major free agents last summer.

A team to watch out for

The Memphis Grizzlies are playing like they are a team that have something to prove. They seem to lack a superstar or a go-to player, but they are just winning games. As their 7-1 start and leading the Southwest division shows.

They have an excellent frontcourt with Rudy Gay (19.8 points), Zach Randolph (17.2 points and 13.9 rebounds) and Marc Gasol (15 points and 7.3 rebounds), but their backcourt is just average.

A good friend of mine says they lack a star in the backcourt, but Mike Conley (14 points, six assists and two steals per game) is a poor man’s Tony Parker. And their shooting guard is Tony Allen. He provides some intangibles that this team needs, a defender with championship experience. And they added Jerryd Bayless in the offseason to back up Conley and play some shooting guard.

The Grizzlies took the Clippers to seven games in playoffs last year and knocked off the Spurs in the first round a couple years ago. This is a squad no team wants to face in the postseason, and just one reason why the Western Conference is deeper than the East.

Andrei Kirilenko

AK47 spent his entire career in Utah until last season when he decided to return to Russia when the NBA was on the verge of a lockout.

Returning this season, he has been an excellent pickup for Minnesota who is without Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. AK47 is averaging 14.1 points (59.7% on FGAs and 53.3% of his 3s), 8.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.4 steals.

Kirilenko’s versatility is his best asset, He does a little bit of everything, and he is having an effect on the Wolves. They are allowing just 90 points (second best in the NBA), opponents are shooting just 42.4% (fourth best) from the field and 33.3% on 3s (tied for 10th).

AK47 is my early candidate for comeback player of the year.

Darren Jacks is a regular contributor to OneManFastBreak.net. Send him an email to: djroxalot@hotmailcom.

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have reached the NBA Finals three consecutive years. Can they make it a fourth this season? (GETTY IMAGES)

Since the L.A. Lakers acquired – or stole, depending on how you interpret the historic heist – Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008, the Lakers have been to the NBA Finals three consecutive years. They lost to the Celtics in 2008, defeated the Magic in 2009 and outlasted the Celtics in seven brutal games in 2010.

As the 2011 NBA playoffs is about to begin, the Lakers are once again heavy favorites to reach the NBA Finals. This will be their fourth consecutive trip into June, which is unchartered territory. Not since the Showtime Lakers (1982-85) has an NBA team logged so much playoff mileage. It’s equivalent to almost two full regular seasons. So, the biggest question facing the Lakers in the 2011 playoffs is this: Do they have enough left in the tank to advance past the Western Conference and reach a fourth straight NBA Finals? The answer lies in the legs of Andrew Bynum. If Bynum stays healthy, the Lakers should be back in the Finals. If not, and Bynum has shown to be vulnerable to knee injuries (he hyperextended his right knee recently against the Spurs) then the West is wide open.

FIRST ROUND

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Memphis Grizzlies
The Spurs shot out like a cannon and ran away with the best record in the West, but they didn’t exactly finish the race strong. Gregg Popovich carefully managed the minutes of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker to save their legs for the playoffs. Now that the playoffs are here, it will be interesting to see if San Antonio reverts back to its methodical approach or maintains its uptempo, 3-point attack. Ginobili injured his right arm in the regular-season finale, and if this latest injury turns out to be serious the Spurs’ title hopes could be dashed. The Spurs split their season series with Memphis so the Grizzlies will be a tough out. Prediction: Spurs in 6.

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Denver Nuggets
Nuggets coach George Karl publicly wanted a matchup with the Mavericks because he thinks his speedy squad will be negated by the extremely fast and athletic Thunder, who now has a defensive anchor in Kendrick Perkins. This series will be a track meet, with speedsters Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton in one lane, and Russell Westbrook and Eric Maynor in another. Prediction: Thunder in 5.

(3) Dallas Mavericks vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
This will be the best first-round matchup. The Blazers, bolstered by the addition of Gerald Wallace, will give the Mavs all they handle and then some. LaMarcus Aldridge will probably draw Tyson Chandler because Dirk Nowitzki won’t be able to guard Aldridge in the post. The key to the series will be guard play, and the Blazers have an advantage over the smaller guards of Dallas. And if Portland can get 20 quality minutes per game from Brandon Roy then the Mavs are in deep trouble. Prediction: Blazers in 6.

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (7) New Orleans Hornets
The Lakers swept the Hornets during the regular season and they should sweep the Hornets again in the postseason. The Hornets simply do not have enough size to compete with L.A.’s formidable frontline, and Chris Paul needs to play out of his mind just to eek out a game against the defending NBA champs. Prediction: Lakers in 4.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Oklahoma City Thunder
A classic battle of The Old & the Beautiful” against “The Young & the Very Restless.” The Spurs swept the Thunder during the regular season, but their last contest was in February and the Thunder have since retooled their starting lineup and now have Perkins to protect the basket, grab rebounds and set hard screens. Perk also brings a nasty streak to the mix, something the Thunder sorely needs. Originally, I had the Spurs winning this series in seven hard-fought games. But Ginobili’s sprained right arm could be troublesome for Gregg Popovich and Co., and without a healthy Manu the Spurs become extremely ordinary. The Thunder pushed the Lakers to limit last year, and this year they push the Spurs out of the playoffs. Prediction: Thunder in 6.

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
The Lakers-Blazers rivalry reached a fever pitch in 2000 and 2001 when the Blazers, led by Scottie Pippen, Rasheed Wallace and Brian Grant, gave the Lakers all they can handle but just couldn’t get over the hump. It’ll be the same story this season as the Blazers will make this a very competitive series with their depth and defense, and may even push this thing to the limit. But in the end, the Blazers’ perimeter players will have no answer for Kobe and their frontcourt won’t  be able to keep up with the Hollywood Hills (Gasol and Bynum). Too bad Roy is a shell of himself these days because the Blazers really need the old Brandon Roy to knock off the champs. Prediction: Lakers in 7.

CONFERENCE FINALS

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Oklahoma City Thunder
This series features two teams from polar opposites of the basketball spectrum. In one corner you have the two-time defending NBA champs with a history full of superlatives. The Lakers are led by one of the all-time greats in Kobe Bryant and L.A.’s three-headed frontcourt of Gasol, Bynum and Lamar Odom is unrivaled in the league. In the other corner you have a franchise that originated in Seattle, but is still very much in its infancy stages. OKC is led by a couple of 22-year-olds: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It’s Youth vs. Experience. Power vs. Speed. The Rebel Alliance vs. the Evil Empire. Durant, the young Jedi knight, vs. Kobe, the Jedi master. If the Lakers-Thunder sequel is anything like last year’s epic struggle, basketball fans are in for a treat. Despite getting significantly bigger with the acquisition of Perkins, the “Fast & Furious” Thunder still can’t measure up to “The Big Lake Show.” Prediction: Lakers in 7.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter at: twitter.com/onemanfastbreak.

Lakers forward-center Pau Gasol is defended by his brother, Marc Gasol, during a Lakers-Grizzlies game at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (GETTY IMAGES)

The Grizzlies came into Staples Center and embarrassed the defending NBA champions 104-85. The Lakers have now lost three of their last four home games, and the one win was a four-point struggle against the lowly 76ers. Is there trouble in L.A.?

“We didn’t execute well, and defensively we were poor,” Kobe Bryant told reporters on Sunday night after the loss, the Lakers’ 11th of the season. “We’ve just got to come out focused and ready to play. It’s tough when you have to try to regenerate that energy every single night. It starts individually. You have to look at yourself and try to find things to get you going. Right now we can’t beat anybody, but we’ll be fine.”

Phil Jackson agreed with Kobe about the lack of focus, but the Lakers head man also got very specific during his postgame press conference regarding the team’s struggles offensively.

“It’s a matter of focus. We didn’t use our strengths, which is our inside players,” Jackson said. “Pau gets nine shots during the course of a game, some of it is his own responsibility, but we didn’t use that focus that we have in the ballgame.”

Jackson continued, “We started off the game with Pau scoring six out of our eight points, but he didn’t score again in the half.  He’s too good of a player for a game like that.”

Translation, Jackson wants Kobe and Co. to FOCUS on getting the ball inside to Pau Gasol and, to an extent, Andrew Bynum. The Lakers have the best low-post players in the league the Zen Master wants his team to initiate their triangle offense through their big men and play the game inside-out, something Kobe and Co. failed to do against the Grizzlies.

“As a result, we get behind early in the third quarter on some stupid plays. You know, poor passing, poor transition defense,” Jackson explained, “and Kobe has to screw up the game and start energizing the team by going one-on-one and takes the rest of the guys out. As a consequence, that did bring us back in and it did gives us a little run and we did get the game back a little bit, but we couldn’t sustain it. And we just went right back and made the same mistakes again.”

Gasol is not really an in-your-face-demand-the-ball kind of guy, so Jackson is basically acting as his mouth piece in this case. Remember the old Shaquille O’Neal line of “feeding the big dog.” Well, the Lakers need to feed their Spaniard if they want him to remain hungry for a third consecutive NBA title.