Brown's influence still felt in Memphis

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Every time Brian Cardinal dives for a loose ball. Every time Stromile Swift rises to the rafters for a block. Every time Jason Williams makes a defensive stop.

Somewhere, Hubie is smiling.

The Grizzlies have rebounded from a 5-11 start under Hubie and interim head coach Lionel Hollins. Since new head coach Mike Fratello took over, the team is 24-10, their latest victory a 98-95 decision at Philadelphia on Wednesday. They posted the second-best record in the league in January with a 12-3 record under Fratello's steady hand.

The Grizzlies are the best team in the NBA that no one is talking about.

And if you believe everyone in Memphis, the retired Hubie is the biggest reason for their newfound success.

In the closing minutes of the fourth quarter with the game tied, Fratello signaled for Williams to come in off the bench to replace rookie Antonio Burks, who had come straight off the injured list to play his first minutes since Dec. 13 and was running out of gas.

The Grizzlies were down 89-88 with 5:41 left in the game, and Fratello wanted Williams to anchor the team for the rest of the game.

As Williams waited by the scorer's table, an exhausted Burks hit a three pointer to put the Grizz ahead 91-89.

Williams looked toward the bench at Fratello. Fratello saw him and nodded. A minute later, Burks rose up and hit a second three. Williams began creeping toward the bench and asked Fratello, "Do you want me to come back? Do you still want to take him out?"

Fratello didn't hesitate to put Williams back in the game, but later used Williams' unselfishness to stress a point about this year's Grizzlies.

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Chad Ford | email

Senior Writer, NBA Insider

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• Senior NBA Writer for ESPN.com
• ESPN Insider NBA Draft Analyst since 2002
• Writes ESPN's NBA Draft Top 100 and Lottery Mock Draft