A 1-3 record to end their five-game west coast road trip has the Grizzlies falling down the pecking order of this week's power rankings. Their struggles were expected due to the oversized amount of injuries they had to endure as their trip began.
Their power ranking among the NBA's elite didn't fall too far as other teams didn't step up enough to overtake them within a week. A two-game homestand came at the right time for the Grizzlies as they got healthier and could rest up a little bit in the comforts of their own homes.
NBA.com: 6th
The Grizzlies welcome the opponent that passed them in the NBA.com Power Rankings this Thursday in the Houston Rockets. After losing three out of four games on the road, the Grizzlies dropped only one spot in what was understood as they lost Ja Morant to injury on their first game of the five-game road trip.
Although the team still has a winning record in games Morant has missed, his missing component of handling the basketball is missing with him and Marcus Smart out. Desmond Bane has had to take on the bulk of the ball-handling responsibility again and had 17 total turnovers in their last three games.
As a whole, the team averages 17.4 turnovers per game, which ranks 29th out of the 30 teams in the NBA. As good as the Grizzlies offense has been this season, the turnovers have been a reoccurring issue and are worse when they are missing half of their roster (as was the case last week).
The Grizzlies will have to clean that problem up quickly as they await the return of several rotation guys with a schedule that is becoming unkind. Their home stretch this week against the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets provides an opportunity to work through some of their kinks in a comfortable environment.
ClutchPoints: 6th
The Grizzlies dropped three spots in the ClutchPoints Power Rankings, as they were ranked third in their last iteration two weeks ago. The Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets were the teams that passed the Grizzlies in their power rankings.
With a matchup on tap with the Rockets coming up this Thursday, the Grizzlies have a chance to right the ship with their record vs the West's best teams. They are currently 2-7 in games played against the teams that have a winning record in the Western Conference, including 0-5 on the road.
Their 2-2 home record against the best the West has to offer gives them some promise going into their matchups this week. The Dallas Mavericks are missing Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in their matchup tonight, therefore giving the Grizzlies a chance as they will likely be without their starting backcourt as well (Ja Morant is out, and Desmond Bane is doubtful).
As the Grizzlies prepare for a seven-game stretch against playoff-contending teams in the Western Conference, they are hopeful that they receive good news from the week-to-week diagnostics for Ja Morant and Santi Aldama's return for injuries.