On Sunday, May 15, 2011, the Memphis Grizzlies were one win away from making NBA history, but fell short to the Oklahoma City Thunder in game 7.

     The Grizzlies were trying to become the first eighth-seeded playoff team to make it to the conference finals game, but couldn’t quite reach their goals. Credit must be given to the Grizzlies, however, for making it this far.

     "We've been competing like this all year. We just wasn't seen nationally and a lot of people didn't know about us because weren't on TV a lot, but we've been playing good basketball all year and competing with the best teams," said Zach Randolph, arguably Memphis’s best player.

     The Grizzlies trailed for much of game 7, and never really stood a chance against the relentless Thunder. Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant- who statistically is the NBA’s best scorer- dropped 39 on the Grizzlies, while Russell Westbrook had a triple-double in his best game of the post-season thus far.

     Both of these teams are young, however, so look for them both to contend for the Western Conference Title next season.

     On a side note, both of the teams I picked for the NBA finals are still in the race (Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder). The Bulls are up 1-0 on the Miami Heat, and the Thunder will face off with the Dallas Mavericks for game one on Tuesday, May 17, 2011, at 9PM ET.

     I’m sticking with my pick that the Thunder will win the whole thing, but if the Mavericks keep shooting 3-pointers like they did in the semi-conference finals, or if LeBron James and Dwane Wade play the way they did against the Celtics, or even if Derrick Rose has 4 great games out of 7, then it is really anyone’s tournament.

Source: ESPN.com