The Friday Three: The Memphis Grizzlies are terrifying
The scariest part? The unknown.
What a night in Memphis. Let’s dive right in.
1. Dillon Brooks: The nightmare on Beale Street
Dillon Brooks roared and then stood center stage at FedExForum, one of the key conductors in a beautifully violent basketball beatdown. The Memphis Grizzlies dominated a legitimate NBA Finals contender in the Milwaukee Bucks, and the polarizing Brooks was a major reason why. He had his defensive assignment for much of the night - Khris Middleton - in basketball hell. 1-12 shooting overall. 0-8 from beyond the arc. 4 turnovers. It may have been the worst game of Middleton’s career.
His frustration was on display early. And carried on throughout the contest. But, Dillon Brooks can have that effect on people.
The Memphis Grizzlies, perhaps, can have that effect on people.
Brooks’ brilliance personified the game more so than Ja Morant’s impressive 26-minute triple double. It’s not to say Ja wasn’t an impactful part of the victory - he completely and totally had his way with Milwaukee in transition and hit two threes in addition to his strong rebounding and assist numbers. He also displayed tremendous defensive effort, saving possessions and diving for loose balls.
But that’s the rub - energy on that end of the floor is contagious. And there is no doubt who brings the juice for this Memphis Grizzlies team when it comes to defensive mentality.
Jaren Jackson Jr. has a much higher physical ceiling than Dillon Brooks. Brooks will never lead the league in block percentage, and is actually having career-worst numbers in both block and steal percentages, per Cleaning the Glass. But opposing teams score 10.7 LESS points per 100 possessions when Dillon Brooks is on the floor for the Memphis Grizzlies as opposed to when he is off of it. It is Dillon Brooks, not Ja Morant or Jaren Jackson Jr., that leads the Memphis Grizzlies in efficiency differential at a whopping +13.4 (in the 96th percentile among NBA players). He does it through mentality, will, and grit. These are all characteristics of vitally important members of a championship contender.
Dillon is a free agent this upcoming offseason. His departure from Memphis is not guaranteed - this Grizzlies front office has extended Brooks once before. But Dillon’s lack of a deal in a summer that was full of them for Memphis Grizzlies players was notable. Perhaps they wanted to see Brooks fit in to the construction of the roster more cleanly - less shot attempts forced, more facilitation offensively. He’s been roughly his usual self in that area (if not a tad bit worse offensively than usual.) But he is not negatively affecting the Grizzlies offense (+2.7 per 100 possessions per Cleaning the Glass) and his defensive impact is staggering.
What is that worth? Great question. Is a 4-year, $80 million contract too much for a player with Brooks’ admittedly polarizing game? That debate will rage on.
But on Thursday night, Dillon Brooks made Khris Middleton and his Milwaukee Bucks teammates live a basketball nightmare. It was a sight well worth the price of admission, at the very least.
2. An acknowledgement of the bench
In this space as well as over at Locked On Grizzlies, I have criticized the efforts of Tyus Jones and Brandon Clarke as reserve members. These two, not Dillon Brooks, received pay raises and extensions over the summer. And statistically, they (especially Tyus Jones) had underperformed much of the season as key bench players to help the team maintain and even build leads with Ja Morant and other starters out.
When Jones or Clarke would fill in for Morant, Jackson Jr., or Steven Adams, they performed better. Some of that is logical - better minutes with better players (David Roddy’s recent growth is the exception to the season’s rule of rookie struggle so far). But blaming the players around Jones and Clarke was a mistake - Roddy is young and was expected to have issues. The same is true of Jake LaRavia and other pieces that played outside of their expected roles due to various injuries, including to Ziaire Williams.
Jones and Clarke were the vets. They should’ve worn the “next man up” mantra better after being invested in more fully financially.
On Thursday night, they wore it like a model in Paris during Fashion Week.
12-15 from the field. 3-3 from beyond the arc for Tyus Jones. 6 rebounds in 15 minutes for Brandon Clarke. When they were in the game, they were dominant forces - finding their spots, and executing on both ends of the floor. These two players being close to this level on a consistent basis raises the ceiling of the Memphis Grizzlies tremendously. Plenty of statistical data exists suggesting Memphis has perhaps the best starting unit in the NBA (more on that in a moment). If the bench can maintain leads they build - or even expand upon them - the Grizzlies are a legitimate championship contender.
A larger sample size is needed (and is hopefully coming.) And Roddy has played much better in recent games, which certainly helps. But Jones and Clarke being among the best two-man pairings in the NBA in terms of reserves, which has been the case throughout their partnership in Memphis, returning to form together in terms of completeness of games will make a world of difference as players get back to what their roles are supposed to be.
3. The Grizzlies can be even better
The starting lineup that the Memphis Grizzlies began the Bucks game with - Ja Morant, John Konchar, Dillon Brooks, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Steven Adams - is rated among the top starting fives in the National Basketball Association. Per Cleaning the Glass, they are in the 95th percentile in the league - and they are the only lineup in the top-6 that has played more than 200 possessions together.
No disrespect to John Konchar, but the guy he is filling in for - Desmond Bane - was performing at an All-Star level before his toe injury. And while Konchar has played the starting part admirably for Bane and has proven the Grizzlies right so far in terms of his fit with their schematic goals and how he fits them better than perhaps Grayson Allen or De’Anthony Melton would…he is not Desmond Bane in terms of basketball ability.
Bane will bring a level of offensive production that Konchar isn’t capable of, especially off the dribble and in terms of usage. His eventual return will also allow for Konchar to bolster the reserve unit even more. A Tyus Jones/John Konchar/Ziaire Williams/Brandon Clarke/Santi Aldama 2nd team has remarkable potential. Offensive versatility. Defensive malleability. But it’s theoretical - they’ve played together just one possession this season, per Cleaning the Glass.
The possible Morant/Bane/Brooks/Jackson Jr./Adams starting five? Not even one possession. We’ve yet to see it.
The Memphis Grizzlies are currently atop the Western Conference. They’re 2nd in point differential in the entire NBA, behind only Boston. And after dominating Milwaukee, their +20.5 point differential is the very best in the NBA over the last two weeks.
And the best version of this team - the way they were meant to be unleashed - is still to come. Both in terms of health, and the continued development of the 5th youngest roster in the league, growth is still very much a realistic possibility. Probably even a likelihood.
Growth. From a team capable of doing what they did to a legitimate NBA Finals contender in the Milwaukee Bucks.
We will learn more about this Grizzlies team in the weeks ahead as the schedule toughens. But in this moment, Memphis, your Grizzlies appear to be a real threat to win the NBA championship.
That realization is the best kind of scary.