The Grizzlies' season is quickly getting out of hand as they prepare to face the San Antonio Spurs on the road on November 18th. With a 4-10 record and uncertainty about the injury situation at the point guard position, the team faces a test they haven't been up to the challenge in Tuomas Iisalo's tenure as the head coach.
Tuomas Iisalo is 2-15 against teams with a .500 or better record in the regular season
When counting just this season alone, the Grizzlies are 1-10 against teams with a .500 record or above. That stat has already changed as the season has transitioned, as the Toronto Raptors had a losing record when they beat Memphis earlier this month. Also, the Phoenix Suns fell to 1-4 after losing to the Grizzlies last month.
Since that matchup, the Suns have won seven of their last nine games while the Grizzlies have lost eight of their last nine after beginning the season with a 3-2 record. So, while the first-time head coach technically has a win over a team with a .500 or better record this season, it didn't come when that team had a winning record.
Beating quality opponents has been a problem for Memphis dating back to before Iisalo took over for the fired Taylor Jenkins in their final nine regular-season games last season. After back-to-back wins over the Rockets and Bucks on January 30th and February 2nd, the Grizzlies were 1-9 against teams with a .500 or better record before the coaching change in late March.
After the coaching change to Tuomas Iisalo, the Grizzlies ended the season with a 1-5 record against teams with a .500 or better record before going 0-5 in such matchups in postseason play against the Warriors (Play-in) and Thunder (Playoffs). So, in total, Tuomas Iisalo is 2-20 against teams with a .500 or better record when including the postseason.
The Grizzlies have battled injuries and the learning curve of a new system under a coach with no prior NBA head coaching experience as they struggled to begin this season. Winning the games they're supposed to has been little to no problem, as evidenced by their 6-0 record against teams under .500 since Tuomas Iisalo became the head coach.
However, as their games have been played more often against teams with a .500 or better record (17 regular-season games) than against losing teams, he will have to figure out how to start collecting wins if the Grizzlies want to turn their season around.