DETROIT – Over a three-day stretch, the Grizzlies will line up against a Pistons’ team with the NBA’s worst overall record and a Timberwolves squad sporting the best mark in the West.
If ever there was a measuring-stick opportunity to take stock of just where the Grizzlies stand at this point in a turbulent season, this week could very well be it. However, don’t expect these Grizzlies to measure themselves against anyone right now outside of, well, themselves.
During the last two seasons when Memphis posted the second-best record in the Western Conference, that level of success was fueled by an attacking pace and physical style of play.
Although debilitating injuries, the 25-game NBA suspension of catalyst Ja Morant and some early chemistry kinks stymied the team’s start to this season, the Grizzlies have entered December gradually regaining their familiar footing.
Their goal is to roll into the Motor City and secure a third win in four games by playing from the same script that’s carried them to their most encouraging stretch of the early season.
“Despite the wins and stuff, we’re playing on our terms, and the guys have really been locked in on that,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said ahead of Wednesday’s game in Detroit. “The fact that we’re putting in what we’re practicing into our game play, I like where our team is at. We’ve just got to sustain it and do even better.”
Overall, it’s hard to like where the Grizzlies are at 5-14 on the season. But what Jenkins was referencing was an appreciation for the recent progress the team has made in specific areas that are essential to the identity Memphis has established the past few seasons.
The Grizzlies have scored at least 50 points in the paint in three straight games, have recorded at least a dozen combined blocks and steals in each of those contests and have won the rebounding battle in two of the three outings. That defensive activity, particularly on the perimeter, has also allowed the Grizzlies to disrupt their opponents’ success at the 3-point line.
For much of the season, the Grizzlies have ranked last in the NBA in opponent 3-point percentage defense. But over the past two games, the Grizzlies forced the Suns into missing 17 of 26 attempts from beyond the arc during Saturday’s competitive loss in Phoenix. A night earlier, the Grizzlies hounded the Mavericks into 27 misses on 39 shots from long range.
Albeit small, that sample size of improved perimeter defense is a marked difference from the first dozen games of the season. The Grizzlies still rank last in the league in that category, allowing opponents to shoot 39.9 percent from 3-point range. But that number has dropped from well above 40 percent, which is where it stood through the first month of the season.
Memphis has used nine different starting lineups through the first 19 games. Against Phoenix, Jenkins elected to start two players in guard Jaylen Nowell and center Bismack Biyombo, who were signed to injury exceptions granted by the NBA at different points this season.
Yet despite all the moving parts within the rotation, the team is finding some semblance of chemistry as they reach the 20-game mark of the season.
“It’s better practices and guys just locking in more,” said Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., coming off a season-high 37 points and nine rebounds on Saturday. “We’re getting more games together and watching a lot more film. More time with each other (builds) more chemistry.”
A byproduct of that chemistry has been an increased level of accountability. Jenkins and several players have talked about some of the more intense and constructive conversations they’ve had during games as well as in practices and film sessions to correct mistakes.
Those sparks have resulted in a different energy. Some rotation tweaks have also led to improved results on both ends of the floor. Jenkins has turned to second-year swingman Vince Williams Jr., who is on a two-way developmental contract, to take on a bigger role off the bench.
Williams has been tasked with defending the opposing team’s best scoring option, which has seen him match up with Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving and Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in recent weeks.
Teammates describe Williams as an irritant on the defensive end, who uses his wiry 6-foot-6 frame, instincts and even some trash talk to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm.
“My whole job is to stay ready and bring that energy on defense no matter who I’m out there against,” Williams said recently. “When we play with that edge on defense, we know it fuels our offense. When I’m on the floor, that’s all I’m thinking about, just make it as tough as I can.”
Williams has earned the stamp of approval from Jackson, who is the NBA’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
“He’s defending the best perimeter player, being an irritant, and he’s still scoring the ball,” Jackson said of Williams, who has scored in double figures each of the last two games. “When you get your chance out there, you don’t want to be conservative. You want to keep playing hard. And he’s been doing an amazing job of that.”
The Grizzlies hope to keep that defensive groove going. They know they can’t overlook any opponent, even a Pistons team that is riding a 17-game losing streak into Wednesday’s game
Jenkins just wants to see more of the same recent effort from his team.
“We’re playing with a different energy on both sides of the floor,” Jenkins said. “I’m not saying that wasn’t there before, but we keep talking about our physicality and how our defense sparks our offense. Our fast-break points have gone up a little bit more. Now, we’re getting more stops and there’s a different energy. The fact we’re scoring at a better rate has been encouraging.”