Following their January 24th victory at home over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Memphis Grizzlies are riding a five-game winning streak with a back-to-back set concluding with a matchup against the Utah Jazz on January 25th. The team has gotten back on track after beginning the new year losing three of their first four games, and four of their first six games before their current winning streak.
They ended an 11-game stretch of playing the West's top 12 teams (playoff/play-in contenders) with a three-game winning streak to finish 6-5 before their last two battles against two of the league's worst teams in the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans.
During their initial start to their Western Conference stretch that began with a loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 29th, the Grizzlies' biggest problem of the season was highlighted throughout their struggles. However, their current five-game winning streak has provided hope that they are progressing as the team has been locked in on eliminating their primary weakness.
Cleaning up the turnovers
Following the Grizzlies' victory over the Dallas Mavericks on January 6th to snap their two-game losing streak to start 2025, they ranked last in the NBA in turnovers per game with 17.3. Being that they were the only team ranked in the top six of either conference at that time to rank below 20th in turnover rankings, it was alarming.
However, the Grizzlies have cleaned up their turnovers during their current five-game winning streak, averaging 11.8 turnovers per game. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics rank top two in the NBA in turnovers per game with 11.7 and 11.9, respectively, for comparison.
Considering the Grizzlies' last opponent, the New Orleans Pelicans, is ranked 16th in the NBA with 14.2 turnovers per game, let's make that the league average for this exercise. Following the Grizzlies' 23-turnover performance in a loss to the Golden State Warriors on January 4th, they have gone 7-2 while averaging 13.9 turnovers in their last nine games. That would rank them above the league average if they keep that pace for the rest of the season.
Their two losses in their last nine games came to the same team the Houston Rockets, and they were the two games they turned the basketball over the most averaging 19 turnovers in their two down-to-the-wire losses. The Grizzlies' health has improved as their team is nearly complete and it has helped them settle in with more consistency when it comes to turning the basketball over.
Their recent stretch has only brought the Grizzlies up to 29th in the league in turnovers with 16.5 per game ahead of their matchup against the 30th-ranked team in the Utah Jazz. However, Memphis is on the right track with lessening their turnovers and as the team gets more comfortable with close to full health, the future is promising for them keeping that area clean.