The Memphis Grizzlies are in California to take on two of the league’s most popular franchises. Tomorrow they take on the Golden State Warriors (more on Steph Curry and company in tomorrow’s newsletter). Today, we take a look at what went wrong in a tough loss for Memphis in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
For starters, maybe the logic truly was the idea that Marcus Smart had been out for a while and should be “eased back in” to playing time. Smart’s paltry 23 minutes against L.A., and the overall organizational philosophy towards playing time in these situations, serve as evidence of that. But Smart not starting against L.A. was a mistake.
Again, the team had won five of their last six going in to the Lakers game - including a victory at home over L.A. just over a week ago. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it - right?
Wrong. Strength of schedule should account for something, and context matters. Memphis beat these Lakers (an abysmal 1-4 on the road), a Philadelphia team without top players, a struggling Bucks team, and two league bottom feeders in Washington and Portland.
Marcus Smart, as discussed in yesterday’s newsletter, has that “dawg” in him. It showed on Wednesday. And as the Lakers built up a big early lead against a young/inexperienced Grizzlies starting five that included three guys that played in the Vegas Summer League four months ago, it became evident they were not ready for the lights of L.A.
Marcus Smart was. He would’ve offset the early issues to an extent.
Then there’s another “big” rotation question. Tis’ the season for all politicians making grandiose statements and not necessarily being able to back them up. But while even NBA General Managers are guilty of this to an extent, Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman is usually a fairly straight shooter. So when he said that opposing teams would have to adjust to Zach Edey upon his selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, I believed him.
Maybe I shouldn’t have? Or maybe Jenkins just disagrees?
Edey did not get the start in this game - Jay Huff did. And while Huff saw more of the bench (only 13 minutes played) than Edey did (26 minutes), again, the Grizzlies got off to a putrid start (38-26 L.A. at the end of the first quarter). Jay Huff was barely in the NBA last season. Edey is the two-time reigning National Player of the Year, and a NBA Lottery pick.
Sure, bigs need time to develop. But what does it say when you believe the best way to counter a MVP-caliber big in Anthony Davis is playing the guy who impressed in Summer League over Edey?
It worked itself out. But the poor beginning to the contest rests squarely on Taylor Jenkins. We all make mistakes. Here’s to hoping Coach Jenkins learns from his as the team begins NBA Cup play at Golden State.
