Reviewing the Grizzlies' recent 10-game starts

Through six games this NBA season, the Memphis Grizzlies sit with a 3-3 record to the disappointment of most fans. Despite the team's injury list that seems to grow larger by the day, the Grizzlies have looked like a team that should be at least 5-1 if they played a full 48 minutes with the same intensity they have displayed throughout nearly every first half played.

Their lowest halftime point total is 62 points and they are first in the NBA with an average of 65.8 points through six games. Also, they have led at halftime in every game except one, on October 30th against the Brooklyn Nets. However, the second half has been a different result as the Grizzlies are ranked 27th in the league with 52.3 second-half points.

Considering the games missed by a good chunk of the team's bench unit and only having one full game played by their starting five, being 3-3 at this point is a plus. With four games remaining before the team reaches their 10-game plateau, let's take a look at how previous Grizzlies teams have fared in their first 10 games since Ja Morant was drafted in 2019.

2019-20 Season: 3-7

This young Grizzlies team started the season as expected with a rookie point guard (Ja Morant), a second-year big man who missed the final 23 games of his rookie season (Jaren Jackson Jr.), and a veteran player who agreed with the front office not show up and play with the team (Andre Iguodala).

That team began the season 1-5 before getting to 3-7 at the 10-game mark. That team would eventually turn it around as their chemistry got better and finished the Covid-19 shortened season 32-33 before losing six of eight games in the bubble, and falling short of the playoffs with a play-in-game loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

2020-21 Season: 4-6

While marginally a better start than the season before, this Grizzlies team hovered around .500 for the majority of the season while dealing with injuries to Jaren Jackson Jr. and Justise Winslow. Despite missing two key components, after a 2-6 start, the Grizzlies won seven in a row before losing four in a row and contiuning that trend to a 38-34 record.

As a ninth seed once again and in the new play-in tournament format, the Grizzlies defeated the 10-seed San Antonio Spurs before upsetting the eight-seeded Golden State Warriors on the road to make the playoffs. Their season ended with a five-game series loss to the top-seeded Utah Jazz.

2021-22 Season: 6-4

This team finished the regular tied for their best record in franchise history and finished with the highest seed in franchise history as they secured the second seed for the playoffs. The 2021-22 Memphis Grizzlies team hovered around .500 for the first month of the season until a late November to early December stretch of winning 10 out of 11 games pushed the team to new heights.

Ja Morant ascended from a promising young prospect to an NBA All-Star starter and second-team All-NBA performer. Jaren Jackson Jr. made first-team All-Defense and the Grizzlies season ended with a six-game series loss in the second round to the eventual NBA Champion, the Golden State Warriors.

2022-23 Season: 7-3

This Grizzlies team had championship aspirations and started the season as well as could be asked with Jaren Jackson Jr. out for the first 14 games due to a broken foot suffered that summer. Once Jaren returned, Desmond Bane went out for 17 games due to a foot issue but the Grizzlies calmed the storm.

Eventually, off-court issues from Ja Morant and season-ending injuries to Brandon Clarke and Steven Adams derailed the Grizzlies' hopes for a championship as they ended the season with a first-round loss to the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Both Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. made the All-Star team and Jaren won Defensive Player of the Year.

2023-24 Season: 2-8

The worst start of the Ja Morant-era Grizzlies by far coincided with his 25-game suspension to begin the regular season. Add in the season-ending injury to Steven Adams just days before the season started followed by a wave of early-season injuries, and this season was doomed from the start.

A 6-3 spurt when Morant returned gave the Grizzlies life but a season-ending shoulder injury to him, followed by long-term ankle and broken finger injuries to Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart, respectively, ended the Grizzlies' hopes of a turnaround.