Memphis Grizzlies: 3 Keys To Victory Against The Miami Heat

Win The Three-Point Battle

The three-point battle has been a big struggle for the Grizzlies all season long and that was true in the first meeting between these teams.

In the first meeting, the Heat made 15-39 while the Grizzlies made just 8-29.  That’s a gap that is just too large to overcome.

On the season Memphis is making just 9.2 three-pointers per game while they have allowed 11 made three-pointers on average.

While the Miami Heat as a whole has done a much better job making 11.9 three-pointers per game. They also do a solid job defending it as they allow 11.1 three-pointers on average.

This has been an area that has led to a lot of recent losses for the Grizzlies. It’s an area they need to improve it but they have been trending in the wrong direction.

In their five January games, they’ve only made 7.6 three-pointers at a 28.6% clip. That was after a bad December where they made just 8.4 three-pointers at a 32.2% rate.

In the five games they’ve played so far in January they’ve allowed 10.6 three-point makes a game at a 37.9% clip.

You can dive into the numbers all you want but none of it matters. They just need to come out and play the way they’re capable of and they will get this win.

In the first meeting, Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Johnson both went 4-7 from three-point range. That can’t happen in this meeting if the Grizzlies want any chance at winning.

That also brings us right into our next key to victory. They need good contributions from the bench, which includes keeping Olynyk and Johnson from getting going from beyond the arc.