Former Grizzlies Thriving in Playoffs.... Elsewhere

Bane did not disappoint his former teammates, playing a role in the Magic taking a stunning 3-1 lead over the top-seeded Detroit Pistons as the series heads now to Detroit. But he's not the only former Memphis regular who is getting time this postseason.

A slew of Grizzlies are reminding what was, and what might have been.

Let's start with Bane. He was traded for four first-round picks last offseason, a haul the Grizzlies felt they could not turn down. He was Orlando's most consistent player this season, playing in all 82 games -- remarkable durability, especially when you consider how brittle the Grizzlies roster was this season.

He averaged 20.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the regular season and, while he's shot poorly in the playoffs so far (just 37 percent, though he did get hot in one game from deep), he is justifying Orlando's commitment to him.

Bane was the understudy to Dillon Brooks in Memphis once upon a time, and while Brooks is now out of the playoffs, with Phoenix swept by Oklahoma City, he wasn't to blame for that.

He actually outplayed the Suns' franchise player, Devin Booker, by a wide margin, averaging 26 points and six rebounds, it just wasn't enough to really test the defending champions.

This was a marked improvement from Brooks' final postseason with the Grizzlies, in 2023, when he shot just 31 percent against the Lakers, and the Grizzlies essentially decided he was no longer worth the trouble. After some time in Houston, Brooks has emerged as the emotional leader of a Suns squad that was a bit ahead of schedule this season.

The Los Angeles Lakers, unlike Brooks, are still playing -- even without Luka Doncic and, to this point, Austin Reaves, and while LeBron James is the primary reason at age 41, he's gotten a lot of help from two more former Grizzlies.

Both Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard have been key contributors, in picking up the slack.

Smart, who was injured for most of his almost-two seasons in Memphis, has averaged 35 minutes in four playoff games against the Rockets, at age 32. The former Defensive Player of the Year has shot 50 percent from the floor, including 44 percent from three-point range, while adding 7.5 assists and 3.5 steals.

Kennard, who spent last season with Memphis -- and was with the Hawks this season until Atlanta traded him to the Lakers -- has averaged 39.5 minutes (!) and 17.8 points in the first round series, while filling up the rest of the stat sheet in a way he rarely has.

Kennard and Smart are now linked in another way: they were fined a combined $60,000 for their actions and words toward officials.

All of this has given Memphis fans a lot to watch -- if they care to -- as the playoffs progress, with the current Grizzlies on the outside looking in.