Memphis Grizzlies’ First Week in Review: 5 Takeaways

Inhaling crisp autumn air, feeling the crunch of leaves beneath your feet, identifying which NBA player’s name best lends itself to a crass innuendo you can embrace as the name of your new fantasy basketball team, these are the harbingers of a new NBA season, and thank God, the season is upon us!  Though only a few games in, we’ve already completed the first month on the NBA calendar. Let’s take a moment to review how the season began for our Memphis Grizzlies.

October 28 “Memphis” vs the Cleveland Cavaliers

Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Allegedly, a group of individuals, purporting to be a professional basketball team in Memphis Tennessee (USA), and an NBA team from Northern Ohio participated in a basketball contest on the 28th day of October.  According to rumors floating around the darkest corners of the internet, carried by esoteric fringe news purveyors, the aforementioned collection of Memphis basketball players was severely trounced by its Ohioan counterparts as the Memphis team suffered an unwatchable defeat. Some reports even go so far as to claim that the team (allegedly) from Memphis, though not particularly well regarded for 3-point shooting, shot the basketball at putrid sub-Stephensonian rates, including the abysmally low mark of 12.5% from behind the 3-pt line. This writer can neither confirm nor deny if the losing team in the contest was in fact the Memphis Grizzlies, nor whether this game even really ever happened. Takeaways: N/A

October 29 Memphis Grizzlies vs. Indiana Pacers

The Grizzlies (un)officially began their real 2014-2015 NBA season last Thursday night in Indianapolis. The real Memphis Grizzlies began this regular season in the same way they finished their last regular season: prevailing as victors over the Pacers.

October 31 Memphis Grizzlies vs. Brooklyn Nets

The outcome never seemed in doubt in this one, as the Grizzlies beat Lionel Hollins and the visiting Brooklyn Nets by 10. The Nets, still winless this season, are currently on pace to challenge Jay-Z’s famous claim that the Nets could go “0 for 82” without fazing him. They’ll probably eek out a victory at some point though.

During both wins the Grizz showed signs of what will hopefully become positive trends for the season. In no particular order, here are 5 heartening takeaways:

Brandan Wright Close to the Hoop

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

The value of the Brandan Wright acquisition hinges on the Grizzlies maximizing Wright’s ability to make athletic plays rolling to and finishing at the rim. Wright can come off the bench and bring length and a knack for effortlessly converting plays above the rim. The Grizzlies have not consistently enjoyed that particular commodity at the 4 or 5 since Darrell Arthur was healthy and doing this type of stuff.  If the first week of NBA action is any indicator for the rest of the year, the Grizzlies can rely on Brandan Wright giving them 15 to 17 minutes a night of efficient scoring around the rim. Against the Pacers, Mike Conley and Brandon Wright executed a perfect pick-and-roll with Conley connecting with Wright for the alley-oop slam, but it’s the only one I recall seeing from the pair in this young season. So far we have a pretty limited sample of this type of play, but hopefully Grizzlies fans can expect a higher frequency of successful pick-roll plays enhanced by Brandan Wright.

Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

No mask no problem: The Return of Captain Clutch

Bouncing back from the abomination otherwise known as the season opener against the Cavs, Mike Conley played sans-mask and tallied 13 points and a game-high 10 assists on the road in Indiana. Conley followed up that solid performance with an even stronger game against Brooklyn, in which he lead all scorers with 22 points that included a 4-for-7 clip from deep. Let’s take a moment to adequately appreciate and process that feat alone. Hitting 4 out of 7 would be a pretty terrific 3pt shooting performance for most players who don’t wear number 30 for the Warriors, but a player hitting 4 out of 7 three pointers while wearing a Memphis Grizzlies jersey is practically cause for celebration.  Conley dropped 8 dimes to only one turnover, and routinely outplayed veteran point guard Jarret Jack on both ends of the court. Clutch as ever, Conley scored 8 straight points for the Grizzlies and then successfully took a charge from Jack in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. With under a minute left to play, Conley put the game completely out of reach with two free throws following a Tony Allen steal. Expect Mike Conley to build on last year’s career-best season and lead the Grizzlies into the playoffs again. Short of receiving a signature shoe deal and being hyped up by Adidas, shamelessly self-petitioning on Instagram, or being the lone star marooned on a depleted Portland Trailblazer team, I’m not sure what else Mike Conley has to do to prove he deserves an All-Star team selection that will inevitably go to Damian Lillard instead.

3.BENO!

Beno Udrih had a great game off the bench scoring 13 points and dishing out 6 assists in just 18 minutes during the Grizzlies’ victory over the Pacers on Thursday night. Then after the game Beno, again, reminded Grizz Nation why he is the most underrated Twitter follow in the NBA.

https://twitter.com/BenoUdrih1/status/659922991845908480

Here’s a fun and festive one from Saturday night:

And not to dig up painful ancient history, but here’s Beno’s succinct and accurate recap of the first game

https://twitter.com/BenoUdrih1/status/659779338892615680

Always cheery and positive. Gotta love Beno.

Jamychal Green off the bench

Oct 23, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward JaMychal Green (0) shoots the ball over Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris (12) during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Jamychal Green has slowly carved out a role for himself on the Memphis Grizzlies, proving he is a legitimate NBA player. In the offseason, we looked at which of the Grizzlies young post players might emerge as a reliable power forward Coach Dave Joerger can call on for spot minutes when he needs to rest Zach Randolph, now in his 14th season. Though only three games in, Green has been given some playing time, and he’s been solid. As the 10th or 11th man on the bench, he needs to be dependable, not spectacular. Averaging about 5 points and 5 rebounds per outing, Jamychal Green has looked like a trustable role player through the first three games.

1. Jeff Green can hit 3’s

“Watch out Kyle Korver, there’s a new three point assassin shooting 50% from downtown, and his name is JEFF GREEN!”, is what I would like to say. What I will say is that both guards and bigs for the Grizzlies have done a nice job of getting open looks for Jeff Green. He’s taken quality three point shots through the first three games, and Green has knocked down 5 out of 10 so far. It’s obviously still yet to be seen if Memphis will ever devise a way to consistently take advantage of Jeff Green’s above average abilities as three point shooter from the corner, but there’s reason to believe Green can improve on 3pt makes this season.

And One: Paul George gets salty about getting scored on so much by “a team that don’t shoot threes.”

The NBA incorporated the use of a 3pt line and 3 point shot in 1979. The Memphis Grizzlies are the only team in the NBA that has not yet noticed. The Grizzlies are undeniably a good team, but one would not regard three-point shooting or even three-point attempting as a defining characteristic of the team. Although it shouldn’t come as a surprise to Paul George that the Grizzlies are better than the Pacers in many areas and capable of beating them, it seems George is not ready to cope with the idea that the Grizzlies can outshoot and outscore his team.