By Michael Wallace
Grind City Media
DENVER – These were supposed to be the dog days of the NBA season.
Yet reluctant gunner Marc Gasol is dropping 40 in a game, mild-mannered Mike Conley is defying his coach’s plans for rest and responding with career-high effort and elevation-resistant Zach Randolph is dunking on people. Oh yeah, and did we mention that Z-Bo is dunking on people?
What’s gotten into these Grizzlies recently?
“I don’t know – maybe everybody’s getting younger all of a sudden,” Conley suggests. “It’s like we’ve been battling through things all season, and now we’re showing signs it’s starting to all come together. Each guy is doing a little more to be what we know we can be. And we’ve all been finding one another.”
And all of a sudden, Memphis appears to be finding two essential components that have been evasive all season: Continuity and consistency. And it’s only taken, well, 50 games. That said, the Grizzlies (29-21) have flirted with this kind of prosperity before and it’s always been short-lived. And that’s why making any declarations that this team has finally figured out the formula for sustainability would be akin to expecting two consecutive days of weather in Memphis to be exactly the same.
Most NBA teams typically reveal who they are and what they’re capable of through the first 20 or 30 games of the season. But the Grizzlies enter regular-season game 51 against the Nuggets (21-26) still mostly an enigma. But there’s now enough evidence over the past four games to believe that Memphis might finally be on to something.
The Grizzlies have regrouped from arguably – both literally and figuratively – their most frustrating stretch of the season by winning three of the past four games, including two in a row entering Wednesday’s game in Denver. They wrap up their season-long, six-game trip Friday in Oklahoma City and Saturday in Minnesota before returning home to face the Spurs and Warriors next week.
This is an opportune time for Memphis, which sits two games back of fourth place in the West standings – a coveted spot that would secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. And to a man, every key veteran has played recently as if intent on seizing this opportunity.
The current upturn began with a home win against Toronto last Wednesday, when a determined Gasol scored his team’s first 16 points on the way to a career-high 42-point effort. It continued when the Grizzlies quickly shook off a demoralizing finish in a controversial 112-109 loss in Portland on Friday with their most complete game of the season a night later in Saturday’s 102-95 win in Utah.
And that performance propelled Memphis to a wire-to-wire victory over Phoenix on Monday, when Conley scored a career-high 38 points to go with nine assists. But Randolph delivered the true milestone when for the first time in his 15-year career he had two dunks and two threes in the same game. It all equates to the most encouraging signs this season of Gasol, Conley and Randolph being in sync offensively. They’ve combined for 74, 69, 56 and 73 points over the past four games.
Grizzlies coach David Fizdale is finally starting to see consistency as Memphis looks to improve to 3-1 on the six-game trip with Wednesday’s game in Denver.
“Obviously, I’m going to still find some flaws in the film, but I think a lot of it has to do with us getting in better shape and just a stronger commitment to consistent effort,” Coach David Fizdale said of the recent performances. “We have a chance right now to really put this thing together and really get on a run these next few weeks before the All-Star break. I think our key guys are sensing that, too.”
HEALTH REPORT
For the first time this season, the Grizzlies entered a game day with no players listed on the team’s official injury report. Considering how a slew of major injuries derailed the Grizzlies last season, it’s safe to say this is the healthiest the team has been since the fall of 2015. Memphis essentially crossed the threshold when Brandan Wright scored six points and grabbed two rebounds in five minutes during his season debut Monday in Phoenix after recovering from November ankle surgery. For the Nuggets, F/C Nikola Jokic (hip) is questionable after missing the past two games.
NUMBERS WATCH
24. The Grizzlies’ historic and prolific stretch from three-point range now enters February with the team having already made at least 10 threes in 24 games. That breaks the previous franchise-best mark of 23 games of 10 or more treys set during the 2007-08 season. Conley (92), Troy Daniels (75), Gasol (72), Vince Carter (61), JaMychal Green (37) and James Ennis (33) have each made at least 30 threes through the first 50 games of the season.
KEEP AN EYE ON
Chandler Parsons. Patience has been required throughout the Parsons process in Memphis, but there are some clear signs of incremental progress. Although the versatile small forward is playing under a soft cap of around 20 minutes a game as he rebuilds the workload on his knees, the Grizzlies have grown more flexible with how and when those minutes are distributed. Parsons saw action in the fourth quarter for the first time in six weeks during Monday’s win in Phoenix. Since returning from a left knee bruise that sidelined him for a month, Parsons had initially played all of his allotted minutes in the first half, then progressed to playing a quick stint to open the third quarter. Should the process continue as projected, barring any setbacks, look for another incremental increase in Parsons’ minutes as the calendar flips to February.
GRIZZ-TAKE
Toney Douglas on passing up on other options, including Denver, to rejoin Memphis – I just really felt a comfortable fit being here (with the Grizzlies). When a team fits you, when a situation just seems right for you and your game, you know it. There were a couple of other teams that we talked to, but this is where I really wanted to be. So it was just about waiting for another opportunity.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Michael Wallace are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.