Insider Insights: Grizzlies Ruin Tyus Jones’ Return with Wire-to-Wire Win

With the Grizzlies missing 11 players due to injury Jordan Goodwin, Luke Kennard, John Konchar, Santi Aldama, and Trey Jemison got the nods as the starters for this matchup. Trey Jemison scored the first two buckets of the game and 10 of the Grizzlies’ first 13 points overall as the Grizzlies took an early 13-6 lead. The former Washington Wizard went on to shoot 5-5 and lead the game in scoring in the first quarter with 10 points as the Grizzlies led 29-21.

The Grizzlies’ bench unit consisting of Dejon Jarreau, GG Jackson, Jake LaRavia, and Wenyen Gabriel helped extend their lead to 40-27 early in the second quarter. Trey Jemison returned and continued to dominate by scoring his career-high in points as the Grizzlies blitzed the Wizards for 38 second-quarter points to lead 67-42 at the half.

The Wizards began the third quarter with a 23-10 run to cut their deficit down to 77-65 but back-to-back bucekts by Santi Aldama sparked an 8-3 Grizzlies run to push their lead back to 17 points at 85-68. After the Wizards cut their deficit to 12 points again, GG Jackson led the Grizzlies’ on a 7-2 run to end the third quarter leading 92-75.

The Wizards kept fighting though as they began the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run to cut their deficit to single-digits at 94-88. However, a Luke Kennard assist to a cutting Trey Jemison stopped the Wizards’ run and propelled the Grizzlies to end the game on a 15-9 run to win 109-97. Trey Jemison finished with 24 points to lead the Grizzlies.

Now for the main takeaway:

The Return of Tyus Jones

Tyus Jones will always have a special place in the hearts of Memphis Grizzlies’ fans for ushering in the Grz Nxt Gen era over his four-year tenure with the Grizzlies. After being traded last summer in a three-team deal that landed the Grizzlies Marcus Smart, Tyus Jones got his well-deserved opportunity of being a starting point guard for the Washington Wizards this season.

Tyus Jones signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in the summer of 2019 to become a steady backup point guard for Ja Morant as he was entering his rookie season in the NBA and he more than exceeded expectations. Tyus Jones led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio in all four of his seasons (tied for first last season) with the Grizzlies and continues to lead the NBA in that statistic this season with the Wizards.

Over his tenure with the Grizzlies, Tyus Jones averaged 8.3 points and 4.5 assists in 288 games, including 60 starts. His numbers increased to 13.2 points and 7.1 assists in the games he started for the team and his numbers as a full-time starter for the Wizards are comparable with 12.1 points and 7.3 assists. However, the Washington Wizards entered last night’s contest tied for the worst record in the NBA and that record is a far cry from Tyus Jones’ record with the Grizzlies as a starter (38-22).

In the Grizzlies’ and Wizards’ first matchup this season on October 28th, Tyus Jones provided 14 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals in the Wizards victory in Washington. Following that performance, Tyus Jones provided 4 points, 9 assists, and 1 steal in his first game back at the FedExForum in another team’s uniform.

Tyus Jones’ tenure with the Grizzlies helped give him the reputation as the league’s best backup point guard and ultimately led to him getting an opportunity as a full-time starter for the Washington Wizards. Although the split has not been well for either side (for obvious reasons), it was the best move at the time for both sides and it was nice to see the reception Tyus Jones received in his return to Memphis.

Start/Stop/Continue

CONTINUE finding a way to keep players like Dejon Jarreau. The roster crunch probably won’t allow the team to keep him after his 10-day contract ends but with him already being a Memphis Hustle player, the team might be able to keep him stashed for the rest of this season. After leading the team in rebounds, assists, and steals in his first game on Sunday at Oklahoma City, Jarreau put up 8 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals against the Wizards.

Coming Up

The Grizzlies remain home for their three-game homestand with a back-to-back against the Charlotte Hornets tonight at 7 PM CST.

Final Quote

“I’m grateful to get the opportunity to showcase my talents and try to help us get as many wins as we can” – Dejon “Deeky” Jarreau