The Grizzlies and the Pelicans are top tier teams with pretty young cores. The key players for the Nuggets and Kings aren't young, but aren't old either; their core players probably won't start to fade for a while, but are a touch older than the Grizzlies and the Pelicans. The rest of the top teams in the West are right on the edge of their core players probably starting to fade due to age in the next two or three seasons.

Injuries are a factor, but outside of that and the front office deciding to blow up team, the Grizzlies will be a top tier team for a while. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of the team for a variety of reasons, but looking at the team as objectively as possible, it's pretty hard to deny they'll be the cream of the crop in the West for a minute.