The NBA Season is well underway as teams have now shaken off pre-season rust and lineups have mostly been set around the league. Have the Memphis Grizzlies been impressive or underwhelming? Back in August, I gave my prediction for Memphis’ games month-to-month. Now, it is time to take a look at the past two months for the Grizzlies and see how well our predictions have panned out so far, along with what to look for in December.
October Recap:
Predicted October Record: 5-2
Actual October Record: 4-3
Difference: -1
Notable Games:
Oct. 19 vs. New York
Prediction: Win
Actual: Win
Oct. 22 at Dallas
Prediction: Loss
Actual: Loss
Luckily, I was only one game off from my early predictions. There were a few things that would have been hard for anyone to guess in October. The first being the Memphis Grizzlies’ defense was atrocious in October with the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. I knew Jaren Jackson Jr. missing from the lineup would hurt the defense some, but it was not close to what Memphis usually does on the defensive end. The second was how well Utah played in the first month of the season. The Jazz ended October with a record of 6-2. The only team with an arguably better record at the time was the Bucks (6-0 in October). However, Memphis did well with what they had on the floor, but it was not without growing pains as the new rookies had to adjust to the NBA and their new team.
Biggest Takeaways:
I am thankful we have Sanit Aladama. He stepped up big for the Memphis Grizzlies and provided quality minutes when he was needed. He came in second in October for rebounding averages at 6.1 per game. He shocked many casual NBA fans as this seemingly unknown bench player who was starting and doing surprisingly well.
(All Stats and Records are sourced from ESPN)
November Recap:
Predicted November Record: 10-4
Actual November Record 8-6
Difference: -2
Predicted Overall Record: 15-6
Actual Overall Record: 12-9
Difference: -3
Notable Games:
Nov. 7 vs. Boston
Prediction: Loss
Actual: Loss
Nov. 11 vs. Minnesota
Prediction: Win
Actual: Win
Nov. 30 at Minnesota
Prediction: Loss
Actual: Loss
All things considered, I do not think I was that bad off in my prediction. November was a bitter-sweet Month for the Memphis Grizzlies. They got Jaren Jackson Jr. back sooner than originally expected, but then lost Desmond Bane (24.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.8 APG) for the second half of the month (playing only 6 of 14 November games due to injury). So far, Memphis has only had three players play all 21 games (Tyus Jones, David Roddy, and Brandon Clarke), and with Steven Adams, John Konchar, and Santi Aldama playing 20 each. The injuries and illnesses that have gone through the Memphis Grizzlies locker room have definitely been a setback this month and have led to a few more losses than they would have liked.
Memphis Grizzlies Biggest Takeaways:
If Memphis would have made my prediction of 15-6 up to this point, they would be the first seed in the West right now, with the third-best record in the NBA, which is not something I thought would have been the case. However, the Memphis Grizzlies are sitting as 4th in the West behind their Divisional Rival, New Orleans (3rd in the West, 1st in Division). Their loss to New Orleans on November 15th hurt a little worse knowing how close these two young teams are. We need to be healthy once again. The quicker we can get Desmond Bane back on the floor, and get Zaire Williams to play his first game the better. There should not be any reason to sound the alarm besides keeping our guys healthy, but I have the utmost respect and confidence in the Memphis Grizzlies staff to take care of the players and keep them as healthy as possible.
(All Stats and Records are sourced from ESPN)
Continued Predictions:
Here are my same predictions for the rest of the season, with an updated overall record (for continuity).
- December Prediction: 9-5 (21-14 Overall)
- January Prediction: 10-5 (31-19 Overall)
- February Prediction: 9-1 (40-20 Overall)
- March Prediction: 11-6 (51-26 Overall)
- April Prediction: 3-2 (54-28 Overall)