Memphis Grizzlies are in trouble if they don’t improve in these five areas

2. Get back to putting the ball in the hands of Steven Adams

The Grizzlies need to consider getting the ball into the post to keep opposing defenses a little more honest. They could start with giving big man Steven Adams some touches— not to score but to utilize his high basketball IQ and allow him to pass the ball to teammates that are cutting to the basket or sliding up the three-point line for an easy look.

Despite getting 29 paint touches in the season opener, the Memphis Grizzlies had zero post-ups in the game.  They were the only NBA team other than the Oklahoma City Thunder to record zero post-ups in their opening game.

For the sake of comparison, the Grizzlies averaged 4.1 post-ups per game last year and scored an average of 2.7 points on those post-ups.

3. Memphis Grizzlies have to value their possessions

There were several plays in the season opener in which the Grizzlies were way to careless with the ball. It’s all about risk benefit with this young crew. There were more than a few instances in which they threw mistimed alley-oops and it cost them points or Player A cut to the basket when Player B thought they were falling back to the three-point line.

Some of it is timing and playing with new teammates, but it’s something they need to be mindful of especially in close games. The Grizzlies were up big and should know when another team is on a heater not to get too relaxed with their possessions.

The Grizzlies recorded just .249 points per touch in their opener, which was the lowest of any team that won their opening game. Last season, the team averaged .289 points per touch.