The reason I've come to like the Memphis Grizzlies is not so much for what they are but for what they aren't. They're not a franchise that's more intrigued by lottery luck than on-court achievement. They're not a team that clears out cap space to sell fans on the hope of luring a marquee free agent.

They're not a political campaign filled with promises that will go unfulfilled. They don't make bold proclamations. They don't harbor grandiose intentions.

They're not afraid to live in the zone every NBA team wants to avoid: that realm of just good enough. The Grizzlies won't get high draft picks, but they won't get a championship either. No one dreams of a career that tops out at middle management, but the Grizzlies keep working away, fully aware that they will probably never get promoted to executive status.

They have made the playoffs four consecutive years but never put together a run of more than eight of the 16 victories it takes to get a championship.

Deep down, the Grizzlies have to know they have limits. They don't have the superstar to provide the foundation for a championship team, and nobody is going to announce that he is taking his talents to Beale Street. In an increasingly offensive-oriented league, they don't have the firepower to keep up.

And that's where their most admirable quality kicks in. They're not going to give up, and they aren't going to roll over and make life easy for the teams that are better equipped.

"We can't," Marc Gasol said. "It's in our nature. We can't quit."

They're the toughest of outs. Three of these past four playoff defeats came in Game 7. And even when they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 Western Conference finals, they lost two of the games in overtime.

"We might not be the most talented team, but we're going to make you prove that you're better than us," Gasol said. "We're going to force you to beat us, because we're just not going to go away without a fight."

It feels like this is the players' decision, not a mandate from up above.

They say the NBA is a players' league, but within each team the culture usually filters from the front office down to the court. It's a sign that there is a player-driven ethos in Memphis that the mentality hasn't wavered through the sale of the team from Michael Heisley to Robert Pera or the coaching change from Lionel Hollins to Dave Joerger.

It even survived the "Game of Thrones"-like machinations in the front office over the summer, when CEO Jason Levien and assistant general manager Stu Lash were ousted and Joerger seemed on the verge of following them out the door. Joerger is back as if nothing ever happened -- summing up the tumultuous offseason with a single word: "interesting." The players appear unfazed.

More important, the checks kept coming. The administration has held up its end by not skimping on the payroll. This goes back to Heisley re-signing Rudy Gay for $82 million in 2010 and continued with the Grizzlies locking up Mike Conley with a four-year extension off his rookie contract, signing Gasol for $57 million almost as soon as the new collective bargaining agreement was finalized in 2011 and signing Zach Randolph to a $20 million extension.

That's given them continuity. Gasol, Randolph, Conley and Tony Allen have been together through the playoff streak that started in 2011. There's trust, understanding and cohesiveness.

"It's a knack thing," Randolph said.

"They have a nice chemistry and ability to push each other," Joerger said. "They rely on each other, and they help each other. Their leadership as a group pulls everybody through."