Game Preview: Utah Jazz vs. Memphis Grizzlies (11-29-23)

When: Wednesday, November 29th, 7:00 PM CST

Where: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

How to Watch/Stream: Bally Sports Southeast

With the Grizzlies coming off yet another loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the squad looks to rebound against a Utah Jazz team that just won back-to-back games against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Grizzlies, 3-13, are seeking their first home win of the season, currently standing on an 0-8 record at the “GrindHouse.” Luckily, the Grizzlies will have a serious shot at ending this home losing streak, as the Jazz are 1-7 on the road this season. 

Looking ahead, the Grizzlies have a quick two-game road trip, facing off against the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns, before coming home to face the Mavericks yet again. Following that, the Grizzlies will face the Houston Rockets in a home and away series, first traveling to Houston before returning home.

Will Hardy is the second youngest head coach in the league at age 35 and is looking to build on what can only be classified as an overachievement during his first year in Salt Lake City. Hardy’s time has directly overlapped with Lauri Markkanen’s leap into the All-Star stratosphere. 

However, Hardy’s most recent developmental project has been that of rookie guard Keyonte George. Despite averaging just below 10 points on relatively inefficient shooting at 35.8 FG%, George has impressed most with his creation for others, totaling 5.1 assists per game.

George, who was primarily known as a score-first gunner during his collegiate career at Baylor, provides yet another long-term building block. Danny Ainge and the rest of the front office in Utah will be continuously looking to add other pieces to their young core of Walker Kessler (should have been a Grizzly), Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, Ochai Agbaji, and their crown jewel, Markkanen.

Memphis desperately needs to find its way back in the win column, and the Jazz will be their easiest opponent for the foreseeable future.

Shooting Struggles

In light of the recent boom in three-point shotmaking, there may not be a team in the NBA least suited for the continued expansion of range and attempts than Memphis.

Save for the talents of Luke Kennard and Desmond Bane, there might not be another above-average three-point shooter on the entire Grizzlies roster. The drop-off after those two is appalling, with Konchar, Gilyard, and Aldama being the only other players I would consider to be league-average threats from three.

Despite their inadequacy from long-range, Memphis has not stopped hucking threes. The Grizzlies currently rank fourth in the entire NBA in three-pointers attempted at just under 40 per game. Hilariously, despite the team’s insistence on shooting from deep, the Grizzlies rank dead last in three-point percentage at 32.7%.

You’d assume if the Grizzlies were insisting on a bloated diet of low-efficiency three-point shots that they’d at least be able to defend the three somewhat well, right? 

Wrong.

The Grizzlies are the worst team in the NBA at defending opponent’s three-pointers. 

Well, if they’re consistently allowing opposing teams good looks, at least they don’t allow a ton of them, right?

Wrong again.

The Grizzlies allow the seventh-most three-point attempts in the NBA.

In a league dominated by the volume and efficiency of three-point shooting, the Grizzlies have constantly put themselves behind the eight-ball with questionable coaching schemes and shot choices.

Slowing Down Markkanen

When the Utah Jazz decided to trade franchise cornerstone Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers, nearly everyone expected the majority of the value in that trade to come from the bevy of future picks that the team received. What many people did not expect was for Markkanen, included likely as a salary filler, to evolve into the player he currently is.

Markkanen, who is currently listed as a GTD, is averaging 23.7 points and 8.7 rebounds on 48.4% from the floor and 38.3% from three. This spectacular season is coming off of the heels of his first All-Star appearance, something he surely wants to do regularly.

Markkanen is a talented inside-out scorer who is comfortable attacking defenders in the post, shooting from outside, and operating in the mid-range. It’s rare to find a three-level scorer at Markkanen’s size, but that’s exactly what he is.

Ideally, Taylor Jenkins will deploy Aldama on Markkanen, saving JJJ for a roaming, help-side defensive role. This would function best, as JJJ would likely be matched up with a poor-shooting John Collins, meaning the Grizz could afford to leave him open.

Outside of Markkanen, the Jazz lack any form of self-generated offense, save for Keyonte George and the streaky Collin Sexton. Any scenario in which the Grizzlies win will likely contain a great defensive effort on the Finnish forward.

Re-Establishing Grizz Culture

For the first time since Ja Morant was drafted, there is no real energy or buzz around the Memphis Grizzlies. This has to do with many factors, such as the insane amount of injuries, the severity and shortsightedness of Adam Silver’s 25-game suspension for Ja Morant, and the whimper with which the Grizzlies ended their previous season. 

All of these factors have contributed to a rather depressing start for the Grizz, leading Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards to label FedEx Forum “dead.” He says that he’s never played in Memphis, with it being this dead.

Furthermore, Marcus Smart was seen shouting to his teammates, exclaiming, “It’s embarrassing.”

Most Grizzlies fans would agree with Marcus’s synopsis of how the team has been playing, but the question is how to turn it around. 

Changing that starts with Taylor Jenkins, who must start adjusting his schemes for the personnel the Grizzlies have available. As previously mentioned, he has failed to manufacture a stable defensive setup that lowers the volume or efficiency of opposing three-point shots, and he has insisted on a poor outside-shooting team chucking threes as if they’re the 2016-17 Warriors. 

Adding Jaylen Nowell and his microwave scoring should help things somewhat, but Jenkins needs to ensure that the play-in is attainable after Ja comes back, or there may be rumblings of change.