INDIANAPOLIS – The stretch run of the NBA season for the Grizzlies is all about self-awareness.
Although there are 28 regular-season games left as Memphis faces the league’s third-toughest remaining schedule, the focus isn’t as much on the opponents as it is on the internal priorities.
Taking a deep look within was one of the first orders of business as the Grizzlies regrouped from the week-long NBA All-Star break for Wednesday’s practice at FedExForum.
As they look in the proverbial mirror, the Grizzlies see a team that endured injuries to key players and adjustments to a revamped offense to post a 36-18 record. The team staring back at them coming out of the break is one that sits second in the Western Conference standings.
Yet, the Grizzlies know they still have plenty to prove in the coming weeks as they work to solidify a primary playoff spot and position themselves as a serious championship contender. The journey intensifies with a three-game road trip that starts Thursday against the Pacers.
That’s the first stop of a back-to-back set that continues Friday against the Magic before wrapping up with Sunday’s visit to the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers. Memphis is currently in a stretch in which it plays 12 of 13 games against teams in the postseason mix.
“We’ve put a lot of great things into these first 54 games,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins after the team’s first workout back from the break. “You’ve got to shake off some rust after the layoff. But guys were rejuvenated. We’ve got a daunting three games in four nights on the road against really good teams. We spent a lot of time over the break looking at what our identity is, what do we have to do to get prepared, big picture-wise. There’s still much more work for us to do.”
Jenkins almost sounded poetic in his assessment of the priorities moving forward.
He mentioned “having a heightened awareness” in addressing consistent issues that are “low-hanging fruit” for the Grizzlies. The upside is that Memphis leads the NBA in scoring and is one of only three teams ranked among the top seven in both offensive and defensive rating.
The downside is that Memphis also ranks among the league’s leaders in misfortune. Consistent turnovers and inconsistent rebounding have the Grizzlies ranked 29th in opponent points scored off turnovers and 28th in opponent second-chance scoring among the NBA’s 30 teams.
With those concerns in mind, the focus coming out of the break is firmly on protecting the basketball on offense and finishing out defensive possessions with stronger rebounding efforts. Those two areas have especially haunted the Grizzlies against the league’s better teams.
The Pacers, Magic and Cavaliers are all positioned in top seven of the East standings, so they represent the sort of tests the Grizzlies must perform better against heading down the stretch.
According to NBA.com data, the Grizzlies have the league’s biggest differential between their record against teams below and above the .500 mark. Memphis has gone 23-3 record against the 14 teams currently with losing records and 13-15 against opponents with winning records.
Those struggles are even more pronounced against the top teams in the West, where the Grizzlies are a combined 3-10 against the Thunder, Nuggets, Rockets, Lakers and Clippers.
“We’ve got some ground to make up, for sure,” Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane said of finishing with one of the NBA’s toughest slates. “It’s perfect. Going towards the playoffs, it gives us an opportunity to play teams we’ll potentially see. We can use every game as a learning lesson.”
They’ll also have the opportunity to gain their stride with a relatively healthy playing rotation. Star point guard Ja Morant and versatile swingman Vince Williams Jr. were full participants in Wednesday’s practice after both missed last Thursday’s loss to the Clippers with knee soreness.
The quest to establish late-season continuity starts with sustaining a healthy mix of key players. From facing nagging injuries to enduring the growing pains of a new system on offense, the Grizzlies have overcome those challenges to remain among the top teams in the West.
With a few small tweaks, there’s a higher level within their reach.
“It’s about giving even more effort, even more intensity,” said Grizzlies leading scorer Jaren Jackson Jr., who returned from his second career All-Star appearance last weekend. “Everything we did (before), just double it or triple it. It’s about health. It’s about vibes. It’s about understanding what the goal is and visualizing it.”
Jenkins laid them out specifically.
“Our pace has to be more consistent,” Jenkins identified first. “It’s in how we clean up our turnovers and get the ball in certain guys’ hands. Defensively, it’s on-ball physicality, attention to detail and rebounding. That’s where it starts.”
And from here forward for the Grizzlies, this stretch run is all about the finish.