Defense should be the Priority from the Start

We are now less than month away from the 2023-2024 season opener for the Memphis Grizzlies. While the team must still go through training camp and ramp up for the season with five preseason games, it is fun to know that the games will actually start to matter soon. And for the Grizzlies, it will be the opportunity to get back to work in the pursuit of a title.

Currently, there are many relelvant questions surrounding the Grizzlies as the start of the season approaches, mainly how they will succeed until Ja Morant returns from his suspension and how the frontcourt will adapt based on the health of Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke. Fortunately, a full season of Luke Kennard, the arrival of Marcus Smart, and the continued ascension of Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. should all factor into helping the Grizzlies find success until Morant returns.

Perhaps the most significant shared trait between Kennard, Bane, Smart, and Jackson Jr. is that each player is healthy entering the season. The duo of Kennard and Bane should help the Grizzlies find more consistency from deep on offense. However, without Morant, the offense could experience struggles at times. As a result, the Grizzlies best plan of action to succeed until Morant returns logically centers on being one of the NBA’s best defenses. And while Memphis will certainly miss the excellent defense Dillon Brooks provided over the years, Memphis will now feature the last two NBA Defensive Players of the Year in Smart and Jackson Jr.

Though Memphis played excellent defense for much of last season, there is always room for improvement. For the Grizzlies, a specific area of defensive improvement is getting off to better season starts. Over the past two years, Memphis is 106-58 in the regular season. Though the Grizzlies were 48 games over .500 during this span, it is important to note that Memphis is only 23-19 in October and November games and 83-19 in games that occurred from December through the end of the regular season over the past two years combined.

A big reason for this success is a drastic improvement in the Grizzlies defense once December arrived in 2021 and 2022. During the 2021-2022 season, the Grizzlies were the worst defense in the league through November 30th. However, from December through the end of the season, the Grizzlies were the second best defense in the NBA. Last year was a similar story, as the Grizzlies were 19th in defense through November 30th. Once December arrived, Memphis was once again the second best defense in the league through the end of the season.

Memphis has to be focused on getting the defense locked in earlier this year. And a big factor in that could simply be health. As mentioned above, both Smart and Jackson Jr. should be avaliable and fully healthy to start this season as the foundation of the Grizzlies defense. Over the previous two years, that foundation was Brooks and Jackson Jr. However, two years ago, a broken wrist limited Brooks at the start of the season, while Jackson Jr. did not play in the first 15 games of last season due to leg surgery during the summer of 2022. As a result, Brooks and Jackson Jr. only played in 14 of a possible 42 games together in October and November over the past two seasons. This is a big reason why the Grizzlies have struggled defensively to start each season. With Smart and Jackson Jr. both healthy this year, logic would suggest the Grizzleis defense will benefit from frequently having its best two defenders on the court.

Another area of improvment for the Grizzlies early season defense is their ability to limit opposing offenses away from Fed-Ex Forum. Over the past two seasons in October and November, the Grizzlies are 14-7 at home and 9-12 on the road. During the 2021-2022 season, The Grizzlies were 30th in DEF RTG among NBA teams in home games and 29th in DEF RTG among NBA teams in road games through the end of November. In the 2022-2023 season, they were 7th in home games and 25th in road games, respectively. Fortunately, the Grizzlies have more home than road games in the early going before Morant returns. However, 10 of the 11 road games are against Western Conference Opponents. While having Smart and Jackson Jr. healthy will certainly be beneifiical, the whole roster must be more consistent with their defense in road games.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, a big key for Memphis will be defending the perimeter during the early part of next season. This is especially true on the road. Memphis has made 61 fewer three pointers than their opponents in October and November games combined over the past two years, a net amount that ranks 24th among NBA teams in this sample of games. This is especially true on the road, where Memphis has 71 fewer threes their their opponents in 21 road games.

Opponents are shooting over 40% when Memphis plays away from the FedEx Forum in early season games over the past two years. This specific area of struggle from Memphis may be where Kennard, Bane, Smart, and Jackson Jr. impact the Grizzlies the most. Better perimeter shooting led by Kennard and Bane along with other Grizzlies having better focus defending the perimeter due to playing with Smart and Jackson Jr. should lead to immediate benefits for Memphis.

In many cases, a team struggling/regressing or succeeding/improving in a certain area largely depends on having their best players avaliable. Offensively, it may take a bit of time for Memphis to find consistency before Morant returns. Defensively, the Grizzlies should be one of the best in the league from the opneing tip of the season. But the key this year is to be locked in and productive from the start. Better health, consistency, perimeter focus, and play on the road should help out tremendously.

Without Ja Morant, defense is the stregnth of this Grizzleis roster. With that in mind, that will be the source to rely on to successfully navigate a tough early season schedule.