The Friday Three: Keys to the Grizzlies stopping the streak
Losing is getting old in Memphis
Unless you’ve been living under a rock without cell phone service the last day or so, you’re probably aware of the unrest growing in the Memphis Grizzlies fan base. No one likes to lose - the players and coaches for the Grizzlies most of all - but the Memphis faithful is getting restless as the team completes their road trip tonight in Minnesota. Trade talk, unseemly comparisons (Andrew Harrison - how dare you???), and questions of “what is the goal this season?” have been thrown about. If you read this space regularly, you know where I stand - the Grizzlies players and coaches are contending. The Memphis front office is rebuilding.
They’re just really good at it.
Until that mentality changes, in-season roster upgrades (or at least attempted ones) won’t be arriving. Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr…they have to depend on one another and their teammates/coaches to right the ship. Thankfully, they have a chance to do just that against a Minnesota Timberwolves squad that is very dependent on their starters and perhaps may be a bit less fresh than the Grizzlies - even as Memphis ends a long road trip tonight.
Here are three keys to the game tonight against Anthony Edwards and his Timberwolves.
Keep Jaren at Center against Gobert
This matters because it gets the masterful rim protector Rudy Gobert away from the basket. Whenever Gobert is on the bench, Jaren should be too - this is the time Xavier Tillman can be on the floor eating some minutes at the 5 alongside Santi Aldama, preferably. The skill set of JJJ is an issue for Gobert - off the dribble Rudy won’t be able to hang long with Jaren, and the perimeter-based game of Jaren will make Gobert range outside the paint.
This isn’t a new thought. Numerous teams try to do this. But until Wednesday’s game with the Warriors, the Grizzlies seemed committed to Jaren being a starter at the “traditional” 4 - alongside Tillman. X should see limited action in general (he is a team-worst -12.6 in efficiency differential in 273 minutes played, per Cleaning the Glass) but when he is out there, it has to be in controlled spurts. With Ja Morant and Desmond Bane. Without Ziaire Williams.
And hopefully without Jaren Jackson Jr…as he watches Rudy Gobert on the opposing bench, waiting for him to get in the game.
Get Ziaire Williams Going
That doesn’t mean “camp him out in the corner and hope for the best”. Ziaire’s ongoing development has as much to do with the ceiling of this Grizzlies team as just about anything not involving Memphis’ “Big Three”. Grizzlies Head Coach Taylor Jenkins needs more from the 21-year-old Stanford product.
But he, for whatever reason, refuses to put Ziaire in position to be successful.
As poorly as Ziaire has shot from three (23% from beyond the arc is in the 2nd percentile among wings in the NBA - yuck) he has thrived at the rim (75% - 93rd percentile!) and midrange (50% - 90th percentile!) So why are his offensive and net rating numbers so poor?
Because despite struggling from downtown, almost half of his shot attempts come from three. Which…is a choice. One that Ziaire likely isn’t making. Jenkins has said repeatedly that threes and rim attempts are the priority in the offense - perhaps outside of Dillon Brooks going rogue - and the young Williams probably wants to do as his coach asks. But that results in shooting 1-7 from the field - 0 for 6 from three - and a very frustrated fan base asking why Ziaire plays.
He has the highest ceiling of any Grizzlies reserve, that’s why. But we’re approaching “square peg, round hole” territory with Ziaire. That’s not to say he can’t be a better shooter from three - growth for such a young player isn’t just hoped for, it’s usually probable. But Ziaire shot 32% at range last season in the NBA, and that was better than his college numbers. He has consistently been below average beyond the arc…and very above average everywhere else.
Tyus Jones/Desmond Bane/Ziaire Williams/Santi Aldama/Jaren Jackson Jr. This lineup has yet to play together this season. But it would feature four shooters - all over 38% from beyond the arc - enabling Ziaire to work in and around the paint and between the rim and the three point line. Part of coaching is putting players in a position to be successful.
Perhaps the threes will fall more easily after what Ziaire is best at gets cooking first. After losing 4 in a row, mixing things up makes sense.
Blitz Anthony Edwards
The beauty of the Jaren Jackson Jr./Brandon Clarke pairing defensively - and in theory the absence of Steven Adams, while Memphis will miss him very much in other areas - is the entire Grizzlies corps of bigs can be out on the perimeter more. Switching, deeper hedges, going over screens…more things are possible as Memphis moves a bit more freely across the front court rotation.
That’s convenient entering this game, because the Minnesota Timberwolves have one very large threat offensively at the moment. And forcing his hand could pay dividends.
Anthony Edwards, who dropped 37 points on the Pelicans last time out and is posting a career-best offensive season to this point, is seeing a rise in numbers in less-appealing areas as well. For as good as Edwards has been as a scorer (115.6 points per 100 shot attempts) he is having a career-worst season in turnover percentage (13.1%). He is more than capable of torching Memphis, but he also is more likely than ever before to force passes and make poor choices with the basketball.
Beyond that, the starters next to him are not offensive juggernauts. Old friend Kyle Anderson is good at every aspect of basketball BUT scoring. Rudy Gobert is strong rolling to the rim, but that’s about it. D’Angelo Russell is a capable creator of offense, but simply isn’t consistent in that area. And Jaden McDaniels is more of a stretch four, catch-and-shoot offensive player.
As Dillon Brooks likely draws the Edwards assignment, Memphis should throw the proverbial “kitchen sink” at him. Double teams, clean switches, and as many disrupted lines of sight as possible across multiple arms and hands should be the priority. Because if Edwards cannot get his shot off clean consistently, and is forced to get the ball to others to score? The Timberwolves’ chances of knocking off Memphis will have gone down.
If Russell gets hot? Or Edwards rises to the occasion and builds upon his career-best assist percentage of 18.6%? You tip your cap and move along - Minnesota is not a bad team. But allowing Edwards to beat you as a scorer must be avoided if at all possible through adjustments.
Make his life hard, so the flight hope to Memphis can be a bit happier for the Grizzlies players and coaches.