The Grizzlies came out flat against the Los Angeles Lakers last night, falling 116-110 after trailing by as many as 23 points in crypto.com Arena. The loss snapped the Grizzlies' four-game winning streak and an 11-game streak of scoring at least 115 points, which tied for their second-longest such streak in franchise history.
An added West Coast game in the middle of the NBA schedule because of the Emirates NBA Cup wasn't enough to drop the surging Grizzlies in the new NBA Power Rankings. Their ability to obtain a victory over a team they struggled against on Friday against the Nets gave them leeway to slip up in Los Angeles against a Lakers team that needed a win.
The new rankings proved to be consistent considering most teams had time off last week.
NBA.com: 5th
Not playing a game between Sunday and Friday and losing a game late on Sunday night benefitted the Grizzlies in the new rankings as other teams around them dropped due to losing NBA Cup games and losing their return games after the mini-break. Winning 10 out of 12 games doesn't hurt either despite the loss to the Lakers last night.
NBA.com's takeaways talked about the Grizzlies' differential in shooting outside of the paint and how they hold the league's biggest differential in shooting percentage in wins versus losses. Zach Edey's return from a 12-game absence against the Lakers and significant playing time added to the Grizzlies' record-breaking minutes per game averages from their reserves.
They remain as the only team in the top five in both offensive and defensive rating and while their record is 18-9, their point differential suggests a team that's playing at a level of a 21-6 record. There are easily three games in the Grizzlies schedule they lost that probably should have been a victory, leaving credence to that statement.
ClutchPoints: 4th
The Grizzlies rose one spot in ClutchPoints' new power rankings, jumping their divisional rivals the Dallas Mavericks. They commended how the Grizzlies are flying under the radar on their redemption tour and mentioned how that could be a good thing for the team that has been on the radar for two of the last three seasons.
HoopsHype: 4th
The Grizzlies came in at fourth in the HoopsHype new power rankings after being fifth in their most recent one two weeks ago. They mentioned how Ja Morant isn't playing his best consistently as he gets in rhythm from missing most of last season and 11 games this season.
However, that mention wasn't a negative because of how the team is performing well collectively while he plays his way back into superstar form. The new offensive system that has helped raise the levels of nearly everyone on the roster is what has the Grizzlies as one of the hottest teams in the NBA.