Now this is more like it.
Coming off a 105-91 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night the Grizzlies started their three-game road trip against the Dallas Mavericks. Memphis walked into Dallas with a 3-5 record on the road while the Mavs posted a 5-2 record at home this season.
October 30th was the last time these two teams played, and it ended with a 125-110 victory for the Mavericks as Luka Doncic dropped a 35 PTS-12 AST-12 RBS triple-double as the Grizzlies dropped to 0-4 at the time. However, tonight was different for a few reasons.
1. Luka Doncic missed this game for an understandable personal reason, the birth of his child.
2. Kyrie Irving was playing tonight after he missed the previous matchup.
3. The Grizzlies didn’t have newcomers Bismack Biyombo and Jaylen Nowell.
And 4, the Grizzlies weren’t playing with the moxy and swag they were tonight.
The Grizzlies led most of the night. They finished the 1st quarter with a 28-20 lead with 15 of those points coming from the bench. Desmond Bane got in his bag early with seven early points. This was a welcomed sight to see after he was uncharacteristically inefficient over the past few games. Surprisingly, new signee Jaylen Nowell made an impact early with seven points of his own with a few mid-range jumpers.
Other guys chimed in, but the main calling card for this quarter and the rest of this game was the Grizzlies’ defense. Coming into this contest Dallas had the league’s fifth-best offense with 119.5 points per game. Kyrie Irving was averaging 24.6 points per game. But being able to hold Dallas to just 20 points in the quarter and Irving to just a single point set the tone for the rest of the game.
In the second quarter, Memphis was able to extend their lead to a 15-point 59-44 lead. This came off a 15-0 run with Bane leading the way with 11 points during that quarter. The premier defense of old appeared as the Grizzlies forced Dallas to eight first-half turnovers while holding Irving to a single point the whole half.
The Mavs shot 35.3 % of the field for the half while depending on other guys to pick up the slack in the absence of Doncic. The Mavs were led by Josh Green with 10 while Bane led the Grizz with 18. This was Memphis’ fourth time leading at the half all year and they were 2-1 in the other 3 games when leading at the half.
The second half was more of the same. As one would expect, Dallas came out of the second half with a lot of energy and a sense of desperation. Irving woke up in the third quarter with seven points in the quarter along with Seth Curry hitting a few big shots to keep Dallas in the game. Curry scored 10 points in the quarter which enticed a Dallas run to cut the lead to 74-68 with 2:53 to go.
After a Taylor Jenkins timeout, the Grizzlies responded to the run nicely with a counterpunch of their own to finish the third 79-72. You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned Jaren Jackson Jr yet. This is due to Jackson Jr. being in foul trouble the whole night. With five fouls he only played 13 minutes, but the supporting cast came up big to pick up the slack.
In the fourth, the Grizzlies put Dallas away with a collective effort. Bane, Nowell, Santi Aldama, and Vince Williams all played big minutes to put Dallas away. Williams and Nowell took turns guarding Irving and dared the other Mavs to beat them. With a deep three by Bane at the 4:55 mark to put Memphis up by 20, the game winded down to a 108-94 win for the Beale Street Bears.
Bane and Nowell were the leading scorers with 30 and 19 PTS, respectively. This is Bane’s seventh 30-point game of the year as he continues to be the number 1 option without Morant. Aldama finished with 17 PTS as Vince Williams Jr. had his best game as a Grizzly with 15 off the bench. The Grizzlies will travel to Phoenix for a back-to-back as they aim to extend their winning streak to three.
It was a very good team win to build some momentum as we are now seven games away from Ja Morant’s return. It wasn’t the prettiest game offensively, but the defensive energy guided this team to a W. Memphis took advantage of Doncic’s absence and focused on containing Irving. They successfully did that as Irving only finished with 10 PTS on 3/15 from the field.
Seemed like Marcus Smart’s timeout rant from two games ago lit a fire under this team and you can see it, The guys are playing with more energy and holding each other accountable, and you love to see that going forward.
Now for the takeaways:
The Energy is Just Better
No matter if Doncic was there or not, holding a team under 100 is a success in today’s NBA. Memphis held one of the best offenses in the league to 94 points on 37% from the field and 30% from three. We’re used to seeing teams having their best shooting games against the Grizzlies.
Two games ago against the Timberwolves, Marcus Smart was heard during a timeout saying “This is f*cking embarrassing!” to his team. He was commenting on the effort of his teammates and that seemed to resonate with them over these past few games.
In the win over the Jazz, David Roddy gave a post-game interview saying Smart’s statement was “needed”. He said: “It’s something that needs to be continued I would say. We need to hold each other accountable and have that championship mindset”.
You saw that elevated effort in the Utah game and this one. The guys were flying all over the floor, the defensive rotations were a lot better, there were a lot more steals, blocks, and deflections, and they rebounded as a team a lot better. All of those are dividends of a heightened effort.
Since Biyombo has been on the team he has been carrying most of the rebound load on his shoulders. In this game, he only had to grab down six. Aldama had a double-double with 12 RBS while Williams Jr. almost had a double-double of his own with nine RBS. Memphis outrebounded Dallas 52-42 on the night.
There was even an instance where the Grizzlies’ newfound competitive energy was directed at each other. On the last possession of the first half, Bane and Aldama had a miscommunication on who was guarding Irving. Bane seemed to want Aldama to switch off of Irving, but Aldama stayed on Irving as the Mavericks’ Grant Williams hit a three to finish the half.
Bane was visibly upset, yelling at Aldama. Aldama returned some words of his own in what seemed to be a heated brief exchange. However, they both came out in the second half and took care of business. That’s what fans should want to see. That fire and competitive energy have been inconsistent these first 18 games.
Being that this is the month Morant comes back and hopefully some guys get off the injury-reserved list you want to start to see an identity and consistency within the team. Win or lose you want that energy to be there. Once key guys start to come back that energy with the new talent in the lineup will lead to better success for Memphis.
Jaylen Nowell has earned himself another 10-day
Nowell finished the night with 19 PTS 4 RBS while hitting two threes on the night. He has asserted himself in the lineup and Coach Jenkins has taken notice. Giving a guy that was sitting at home two weeks ago 25 minutes while giving him the main defensive assignment in Irving is a big task. But Nowell has been up to the challenge.
Nowell has shown small flashes of productivity in his other three outings with Memphis with his mid-range arsenal and rebounding. However, he hangs his hat on his defensive end and that’s what’s needed this year.
Wing depth has been an issue for this team since the Grit and Grind Era. If Nowell can be a consistent, serviceable wing, that can hit a few outside shots, and play good defense like he did tonight he will find a home in Memphis.
Memphis has a decision to make if they choose to sign Nowell to another 10-day contract. With no official roster spots remaining the front office would have to cut a current player on full contract to sign Nowell to a full-year contract.
If Nowell keeps playing like this, the Grizzlies may have a good problem on their hands.
Optimistic/Pessimistic
What to be optimistic about: Santi Aldama, Vince Williams Jr., and Jaylen Nowell seem to be establishing themselves as the core of the bench unit. With Xavier Tillman back in the lineup and Luke Kennard nearing a return, the bench depth seems to be shaping into form. Also, the defensive intensity seems to be rising.
What to be pessimistic about: Jaren Jackson Jr. can’t seem to stay out of foul trouble. It’s been a problem for his whole career and if this team wants to achieve their goals Triple J needs to be on the floor. Also, Nowell played well tonight, but overall we need a more consistent level of play from all of our wings.