Are the Grizzlies the best team in the NBA?

• Memphis is off to a 7-1 start
• The Grizzlies have double-digit victories against three of the league's best teams
• "We're trying to make a statement that we can play with anybody," said Grizzlies guard Mike Conley

Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley said the Grizzlies wanted to make a statement against the then-unbeaten New York Knicks on Friday.

They did, beating the Knicks 105-95, but that just capped a week of statements.

Using their size and strength, the Grizzlies also this week defeated last season's NBA finalists – 104-86 against the Miami Heat on Sunday and 107-97 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road Wednesday – and completed the impressive trifecta against the Knicks, extending their home winning streak to 15 games.

At 7-1, the Grizzlies have declared they are one of the best teams in the league, too. After reaching the conference semifinals in 2010-11 and the first round last season, Memphis looks like a team ready to make a run at a conference title.

"We're trying to make a statement that we can play with anybody on a given night," Conley told news reporters. "We have a very deep team, and guys play very hard. We just try to play our grit-and-grind style of basketball, and if we're good enough to win, we will."

The Grizzlies lost their season opener to the Los Angeles Clippers and then won seven consecutive games. They can make it eight in a row tonight against at the Charlotte Bobcats.

Conley has provided strong play at point, and forwards Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay and center Marc Gasol give Memphis one of the best frontcourts in the league. Memphis has the third-highest scoring frontcourt in the league at 64.5 points a game, behind the Heat and Denver Nuggets, according to hoopsstats.com.

Gasol had 24 points and seven rebounds, and Randolph had 20 points and 15 rebounds against the Knicks. Gay added 17 points.

Gay leads the team in scoring at 20.3 points a game, followed by Randolph (17.1 points and 14.1 rebounds), Gasol (15.4 points, 7.1 rebounds) and Conley (14.1 points, 7.0 assists).

Memphis has also played well defensively. The Grizzlies have not allowed an opponent to score 100 points since the Clippers game.

After facing the Bobcats, the Grizzlies host the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers – both conference opponents – then play three games against teams from the East: the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons, also all at home.

Looming Dec. 1? A road game against the San Antonio Spurs in an important Southwest Division game.