Welcome to the inaugural edition of eDraft’s NBA Season Preview. We turn our attention to the Southwest Division, covering everyone from the pretenders to the contenders. Today we take a look at the Grizzlies. This is an outstanding defensive team, but do they have the depth to win it all?

Key additions: Jerryd Bayless (G), D.J., Tony Wroten (25th overall, G)

The NBA is supposedly going small from the Heat to the Nets to the Nuggets to the Thunder, teams are shifting small forwards to the power forward position and adding an extra guard to their lineups. If the 1980s were defined by twin towers in the post (Olajuwon-Sampson/Ewing-Cartwright/McHale-Parish-Walton) then the present is defined by a shift to the diminutive and perhaps the total elimination of traditional positions altogether. If Miami can win with James at the four, and the Knicks can thrive with Anthony at the power forward spot, then, the thinking goes, teams would be smart to emulate the strategy. But as the Memphis Grizzlies will show us this season, that might not be wise. Small line ups may be quicker, but they often get killed defensively and on the boards. As Robert Heinlein put it back in the 1960s: there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.

The Grizzlies are decidedly not a small team, and by resisting the dominant trend in basketball today, they may have the best shot at winning the NBA championship this year (and perhaps put an end to the small-ball movement).  For while going small may be advantageous for teams which lack players with talent and height, every team in the NBA would rather have a gifted big man than not. And as it turns out Memphis has two. Zach Randolph (16.7PPG-13.6-19PER) and Marc Gasol (15PPG-7RPG-1.4BLKPG-20.78PER) are so each skilled offensively (and so much fun to watch) that it can be easy to forget just how punishing they can be on the block.

There is a grace to these two giants that belies their fundamentally bruising play: both players are fierce rebounders and defend with tenacity, and teams who choose to go small against them (see: Knicks) find themselves physically overmatched. For as good as James and Anthony play when slotted at the four, neither can sustain the beating that Randolph and Gasol inflict for long. In a seven game series opponents will have to adjust to the Grizzlies’ size or risk injury (or just embarrassment). What makes these big men so effective, and unique, is their ability to play together at the same time. Gasol is one of the finest passers in the NBA and is able to operate as a point-center allowing Randolph space in the post, where he is absolutely deadly (he’s arguably got the best footwork in the league). Over the years many teams have acquired pairs of big men only to find them incompatible and incapable of sharing the floor the Grizzlies indeed have something special.

But as good as Gasol and Randolph are, the collective heart of Memphis belongs to backcourt mates Mike Conley (14.8PPG-6.5APG-2.2STL-19.62PER) and Tony Allen (7.9PPG-1.8STL-11.7PER). These two guards will likely not make the all-star team, and might not start on a third of the clubs in the league, but Conley and Allen embody the gritty defensive ethos that defines the Grizzlies. Memphis plays an intense brand of basketball, where every point is contested, where even getting the ball past half court can feel like an accomplishment for opposing teams, and the play of Conley and Allen is a key element in this. Both players are also above average offensively, and Conley in particular is a talented playmaker—ultimately his improved play convinced management that guard O.J. Mayo was expendable (Mayo is playing in Dallas this season).

In the end, Memphis will miss Mayo’s offensive production, and he provided the team with bench depth, a feature they lack this season, but ownership felt with the return of star swing man Rudy Gay (20PPG-5.7RPG-17.91PER) the starting core should be talented enough to overwhelm most opponents.

Gay is a superb athlete, and has the tools to be a top-five NBA player. He can defend every position on the floor, and can shut down just about anyone. He also has a polished offensive game and can put up 20 even against the stingiest defences. Gay is best when out on the break and many of his points here come off pull up jumpers from 15-feet. Defenders who expect him to finish at the rim are often caught off guard by his ability to stop on a dime in mid-stride and stick the jump shot. But even when defensive players keep tight on Gay his impressive leaping ability allows him to simply rise up and shoot over defenders.

So what’s keeping Gay from becoming a household name? If only the Grizzlies knew. Perhaps it’s simply because the Grizzlies have proven they can win without him. Gay was injured during their majestic run in the 2011 playoffs, and there is a perception that the Grizzlies struggle when Randolph and Gay play together. The numbers seem to suggest that these two talents can indeed coexist, but the sample size has been small. This season we should finally get a sense of what this exciting group can do together when every key player is at full strength.

Reason for optimism: Darrell Authur should come off the bench to provide some good minutes in the post, allowing Randolph and Gasol to conserve their energy for a playoff run.

Reason for despair: The Grizzlies can’t shoot the three. Mayo may not have been the star Memphis thought they were getting when they acquired him (for Kevin Love!), but he was decent from downtown. Who will step up in his place?

Projected record: 52-30