If you only watched the first half of Memphis Grizzlies basketball games so far this season, you would believe that they were among the very best teams that the NBA has to offer. And if you only watched the second half of their games so far this season, you’d believe they were the worst.
Your eyes wouldn’t be deceiving you in either circumstance. For in the 1st and 2nd quarter of games so far this season, the Grizzlies are the 2nd best team in point differential. In third quarters? They are dead last - 30th. Final frames? 27th - not dead last, but certainly not great.
As Memphis endures another three game in four night stretch, how they adjust and improve upon this current reality matters a lot. Of course, rarely is it ever just one thing that creates an overarching issue. That’s the case here as well.
First, sometimes it is as simple as human nature. Over and over on Locked on Grizzlies and elsewhere you hear about and read about the pace that Memphis is playing at. If it’s really that fast, and these players aren’t used to such possession seeking, could it be as simple as the team being exhausted in the 2nd half?
While they’re elite athletes, they’re human. And the depth of the roster is already compromised due to injuries. Ja Morant himself has admitted to coming out of games due to being exhausted. Maybe the new system is simply taking more time to get adjusted than originally anticipated because of the missed time for him and Jaren Jackson Jr. in particular.
That exhaustion could manifest itself in the specific area of team defense, where the squad has suffered most to start the season in second halves. It was an area of emphasis during Tuesday’s practice, which is promising to hear. But perimeter defense has never been a strength for Memphis - leaving shooters open is kind of the point of their schemes.
With that in mind, some times you run in to a hot shooting buzz saw. That was very much what Memphis saw against the Bulls.
Yet that isn’t really what doomed the Grizzlies in their other loss to the Houston Rockets. As Taylor Jenkins himself put it, being outworked on the boards and getting “punked” in the paint is an issue.
But Zach Edey - yes, 7'4" 290 pound rookie Zach Edey - has only seen roughly 16 minutes per game so far this season. His transition to the NBA has not gone the way he, or anyone had hoped it would. He certainly could have helped with the physicality against the Rockets if he could stay on the floor - avoiding foul trouble and the ire of his Head Coach in tough matchups.
From injury issues to elite pace to poor physicality, there’s room for growth to be sure for Memphis. Thankfully, it is still October. And there are 78 games to go to find what’s missing. Time, for now, is on the Grizzlies side.
