O.J. Mayo and the eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies upset the number one seeded San Antonio Spurs and will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2nd round. Mayo helped provide a spark off the bench and added this impressive reverse slam off a Zack Randolph assist.

O.J. Mayo may very well be the x-factor as the Memphis Grizzlies try to upset the number one seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. Mayo has been coming off the bench as the 6th man, bringing a much needed scoring punch off the bench. The Grizzlies have been without Rudy Gay since the All-Star break and will need Mayo to help replace some of his numbers.

If you want to find O.J. Mayo, look no further than the practice court. That’s where Mayo can be found shooting jumpshot after jumpshot. It has translated on the court, where Mayo has been scoring more and has been doing it efficiently. His teammates have noticed

Tony Allen:

“One thing about Juice is that he’s a competitor. He loves to win. When a person has that much fire in him, with his talent and the way he shoots, it’s a great attribute to our team. For him to get through all that (he has gone through), that just shows mental toughness. I’m glad he’s my teammate.”

Mike Conley

“I look up to him for the way he’s handled himself. It seems unreal what he’s had to go through the whole year. It seemed like issue after issue popped up out of nowhere but I knew once he got comfortable in his role he’d get back in a groove. He’s making shots he’s used to making.”

Zach Randolph

“He’s in the gym late at night working on his game and you can tell. He understands we need him and he’s big for this team.”

Coach Hollins:

“We had a conversation and I told him, ‘Shoot the ball when you’re open. That’s what you do’ I’ve never taken you out when you miss shots, so don’t think that you can’t take a shot because you might miss it. You can’t make them if you don’t shoot them.’ He’s come on and shot the ball extremely well. It’s important for us as we go forward that he continues to shoot the ball well. He’s a big factor on our squad. We need him to make shots.”

The Memphis Grizzlies can rest assured that they will get the best of O.J. Mayo in the Playoffs.