The Memphis Grizzlies have hit the first rough patch of their season, and the reason is starting to show through the box scores.
After opening 6-0 and becoming one of the league’s early storylines, Memphis has come back to earth with losses to the Pelicans on Monday and the Pacers on Wednesday. Both defeats came against teams with worse records than the Grizzlies, and both followed the same frustrating pattern: Memphis had chances to take control and couldn’t finish the job.
Against New Orleans, the problem was defense. Against Indiana, the shots from deep simply stopped falling for the first time all season. Either way, the result was the same.
That’s the reality of a roster still learning on the fly. The Grizzlies are young, and it shows.
Cameron Boozer is the NBA’s youngest player this season, and he’s part of a group that also includes 21-year-old, three-year veteran GG Jackson. But the growing pains aren’t limited to the kids.
Jerami Grant and Ty Jerome are both adjusting to new roles, too. Grant, who started 37 games for a playoff team in Portland last season before moving into more of a sixth-man role, has had a slow offensive start.
Per Cleaning the Glass, he’s producing only 105.5 points per 100 shot attempts, which ranks in the 28th percentile among NBA forwards. Memphis is also almost 12 points worse, by CtG efficiency rating, when he’s on the floor.
Jerome’s rise has been one of the early surprises of the season, but that comes with a price. A player who spent most of his career as a reserve is now drawing more attention, and defenses are treating him like a focal point.
That showed up Wednesday, when he finished with three assists and four turnovers and had an uneven night from three. Indiana made life miserable for him and other Memphis players with traps, pressure, and physical defense on the perimeter.
The Grizzlies are going to keep seeing that. The book is out, or at least close to it. If Jerome is going to be the No. 1 offensive option most nights and Grant is expected to provide a bench spark, Memphis needs more reps to make those roles work.
The bigger issue is that the ball hasn’t been safe enough. The Grizzlies rank 21st in turnover percentage, coughing it up on 16.5% of possessions. If that number holds, it would be their worst turnover rate since the 2008-2009 season.
GG Jackson has been the biggest individual problem among Memphis players with at least 100 minutes this season, turning it over on 18.5% of his possessions. That’s in the 9th percentile among NBA wings, per Cleaning the Glass. His assist creation numbers relative to his usage have also been poor, which helps explain why his minutes were limited against Indiana.
He’s not alone. Zach Edey is at 17.4%, and Cameron Boozer is at 16.2%. For bigs, that’s a lot of giveaways, whether it’s illegal screens, loose handles, or bringing the ball down after a rebound and inviting a swipe.
Memphis has to value possessions better. In both losses this week, the Grizzlies lost the turnover battle, and that didn’t happen by accident.
The other issue Wednesday was the three-point line. Memphis shot 27% from deep against Indiana, and while the Pacers were also allowed to play physically, the Grizzlies didn’t do enough to force the issue elsewhere. They took 44 threes and only got to the free throw line 15 times.
That’s part of a larger season trend. Memphis is 24th in free throw rate on offense and 19th in defensive free throw rate, which means opponents are getting to the line at a higher-than-average clip.
Some of that comes down to scheme. Some of it comes down to style. It’s easier to settle for jumpers and reach than it is to drive through contact, move your feet, and win with body position.
The numbers from Wednesday reflect that. Cameron Boozer didn’t attempt a free throw.
Jaylen Wells didn’t attempt a free throw, and he didn’t take a single two-point shot. Ty Jerome did most of his damage inside, going 8-for-10 on two-point tries, but he was 2-for-10 from three.
A quicker read against the trap or a better path to a second ball screen might have helped.
The officiating won’t always be in Memphis’ hands. The approach will be.
Driving harder, hunting contact, and making better decisions against pressure are all things the Grizzlies can control. So can their defensive awareness, which has to improve if they’re going to rotate with more precision and understand what opposing offenses are trying to create.
That all takes time, and this team is still short on it. That’s why a two-game skid like this can happen.
But the 6-0 start wasn’t fake. It was real enough to matter, and real enough to change the way this team is viewed, even if it didn’t change its ceiling.
What happens next will depend on whether the coaches and players can clean up the mistakes and learn from them. The only way to stop being inexperienced is to get experience.
That’s basketball. And that’s life.
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