Analysis | the Grizzlies' young and deep lineup is expected to set the best record in team history

(Translator's note: This article is CBS reporter Garrett Podell, and the content of this article does not represent the translator's views.) The data in this article is as of April 9, 2022 Beijing time)

As the season drew to a close, the Grizzlies could have relaxed. They are currently four wins ahead of the Warriors and second in the West and second in the league. However, if they win the last two games, they will break the record set by Conley, Randolph and Gasol Jr. in the 2012-13 season by the "Grit and Grind era".

The Grizzlies' single-season winning record is:

1. 2012–13: 56 wins, 26 losses (ended in western conference finals)

2. 2021-22 season: 55 wins - 25 losses

3. 2014–15: 55 wins - 27 losses (lasted in the Western Conference semifinals)

Despite locking up the playoff rankings, the Grizzlies are still exploring room for improvement in their final games.

'Our decisions take into account the health of the team and the chemistry, so it's really about taking a day to see how the players react after each game. Grizzlies head coach Jenkins said after the team's 115-121 overtime loss to the Jazz, "We have a great chance to take every game because we have confidence in the health of the team, and if there is an opportunity to keep the team competitive chemistry, I will work on it." ”

"We listen to feedback from the medical team, what the coaching staff expects and how the players react. We've done that all season and we're in a special position right now because you always want to make a difference. For us, it's not just about keeping pace and making sure the team can finish the season in a high profile, but also to hopefully go further in the playoffs. Day by day. ”

One big reason the Grizzlies can "maintain competitive chemistry" at the end of the regular season without having to take too many breaks is that they are young. The Grizzlies are the second youngest team in the league with an average age of 24, with only the Thunder (with an average age of 23.2) younger than them. The oldest players on the team are starting center Adams and forward Kyle Anderson, both 28 years old. Forward Brooks, 26, and Tyes Jones, a 25-year-old defender, can both be counted as old comrades in this team.

The formation of this lineup depends on the draft picks at both ends of the line. Point guard Morant (second pick 2019) and starting striker Jaren Jackson (fourth pick 2018) are both lotto players. Over the past five years, management has filled the squad with players from the end of the first and second rounds (forward Clark with the 21st pick in 2019, defender Bain with the 30th pick in 2020, striker Tillman with the 35th pick in 2020 and forward Brooks with the 45th pick in 2017). After trading Adams and top bench scorer Melton, the squad was finally assembled.

Three-year tenure as head coach Jenkins has shaped the team of young faces into the team with top-notch defense (seventh in defense last season and fifth this season) while attacking the most aggressive team for two consecutive seasons. The Grizzlies have the second-highest offensive scoring (115.4 per game, after the Timberwolves) because they are ahead of the rest of the league in terms of fast-break points (17.6 points), Paint Points (57.6), offensive rebounds (14.1), and secondary offensive points (18.6), while their conversion offense accounted for nearly one-fifth of the number of rounds (19.1 percent), the league's most.

Adams' addition helped the Grizzlies' offense, averaging a career-high 10.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game (fourth among centers). But Morant is the real engine that helps the Grizzlies play this all-out style.

Magician Morant

It's easy to forget that on the eve of the 2019 NBA Draft, teams are praying for a chance to select Duke University forward Zion with the first pick. However, Morant was the bright star of that draft, becoming the top ten scorers in his third year (averaging 27.6 points per game), while shooting a career-high (49.3 percent) and three-point shooting (34.0 percent). He also went from the league's top twenty to thirty best interior scorers and converted offensive players to the best player in the league in both areas.

Since the NBA had this record (starting in the 1996-97 season), Morant is the first guard in more than 25 years to rank first in the NBA in paint scoring (averaging 16.8 points per game). He's 6'3 tall and weighs 174 pounds, and the other top five players in the paint scores are at least a foot taller than him.

About a quarter of those paint scores come from conversion offense (4.4 fast-break points per game), which is second in the league after James (4.8 fast-breakers per game). Morant's other low-post performances came from thrilling performances like the Feb. 28 dunk on three Spurs players.

In that game, Morant scored 52 points in 34 minutes, setting a single-game scoring record for the Grizzlies. And the record he broke that night was set by himself two days earlier — he scored 46 points in 36 minutes against the Bulls on Feb. 26. Morant scored 52 points in 35 minutes, making him the ninth player in NBA history to score so many points in 35 minutes, along with the best scorers in NBA history: George Gervin, Bryant, Carl Malone, James Harden, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Larry Bird, and Maddy.

Hall of Famer Iverson said it was only a matter of time before Morant won MVP.

The Grizzlies interpreted the whole as greater than the sum of its parts

Despite Morant's personal greatness, the Grizzlies have had to adapt to the lack of his life as he has missed the last nine games in a row, as well as 24 games throughout the season. Shockingly, the Grizzlies have won 20 of the 24 games in Morant's absence, including seven of the last nine games he has missed since March 20 with a knee injury. In a game without a leader, the Grizzlies' defensive progress has compensated for the lack of offense.

These victories in Morant's absence were not due to weaker opponents. On April 1, the Grizzlies defeated the suns with the league's best record (63-15) with a regular starting five. The Grizzlies are missing five of their strongest players in the 122-114 win: Morant, guard Bane (left ankle sore), center Adams (left calf sore), Jones (sore left hand) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (right thigh injury).

"We are competitive and every time we step on the pitch we think we will win." Defender Jones said.

"The players played to their advantage." Asked how the Grizzlies lost 115-121 to the Jazz (defensively tenth in the league) in overtime on Tuesday without Morant, Enkins said, "Obviously Jones played well. Their plan was to restrain him and, in particular, to suppress Bane. Jaren Jackson began shooting aggressively at the end of the game with a three-pointer, rushing in to finish and get free throws. Adams kept cutting and moving in the air and ended up with 8 assists and that's how we played. They play to their strengths and try not to miss every beat. ”

Not many teams have a bench point guard like Jones, who has failed to perform at least 50 games than he has ranked first in three consecutive seasons. Jones has averaged a career-high 8.8 points and 39.0 percent three-point shooting per game this season, as well as a career-high 7.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Against the Jazz, he scored 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting (third-most this season) and perfectly 4-of-4 from beyond the three-point line.

'I'm confident I've found my place because Jenkins coaches and staff have always trusted me. Jones said, "They said that as long as I was myself, they would follow my command, so whether it was playing for my teammates or singles myself, I did it with confidence and didn't hesitate at all. Everyone makes me be myself, so I feel like I'm at a good pace. I just have to keep that rhythm up. ”

Another player who improved his game not only during Morant's absence, but also during the Grizzlies' rise this season, was previous first-round show Bane. After four seasons at Texas Christ University (TCU), he was selected as the last in the first round in 2020. He soon showed his three-point ability, shooting 43.2 percent from three points as a rookie and shooting more than 40 percent from long range in his past three seasons with the Horned Frogs.

This season, Bain's shooting percentage from outside the three-point line has again reached 43.2 percent, the third-highest in the NBA, behind Clippers guard Kennard (45.0 percent) and 76ers guard Maxi (43.5 percent). With the Grizzlies trading away guard Grayson Allen before the season, Bane has been promoted to the starting lineup, averaging 29.9 minutes per game, the second-most on the team after Morant.

His scoring doubled to 18.2 points per game the following year, and he averaged 9.2 points per game in 22.3 minutes in his first year. In the eight games that Morant has missed in the past two weeks, Bain has averaged 21.5 points per game, shooting 50.8 percent, and his three-point shooting percentage is 56.9 percent. Despite only playing one round of the playoffs, Bane exudes the confidence the Grizzlies have carried all season. In a Game Against the Lakers in January, he beat James to help the Grizzlies win 127-119.

"We're proud and we're still trying to improve because we know that in the playoffs the game will go up to another level." Jones said, "We still need to keep improving, we can't give up the last few games and wait until the playoffs to try to turn on the switch." We have to keep working hard, develop our habits, as Coach Jenkins always says, try to keep playing basketball in the playoffs. ”

Still, once the playoffs arrive the Grizzlies will clearly need Morante. Ahead of Thursday's game away to Denver against the Nuggets, Jenkins said Morant's recovery was "going very well."

'We've had Morant step up in the last week or so and he's close to coming back. Jenkins said Thursday, "We will continue to stick to it every day." He did take part in five-on-five training on Thursday, which was encouraging and he had good feedback after training. We wanted the whole team to get together and play another game before the playoffs, but if the medical team didn't recommend it, we wouldn't do it. ”

Not many players have the ability to complete the kind of acrobatic stunts that Morant has shown this season. A shot like the one he played against the Spurs on Feb. 28 could determine how far the Grizzlies can go in the playoffs.

"Morant is one of the best players in the league and obviously it's important to us to have him." Grizzlies forward Clark said Thursday, "He's the engine for the team." We were a good team when he was away, but we were great teams when he was there. ”

At the start of the season, not many people were optimistic that the Grizzlies would compete with the Suns and Warriors for the Western Conference title. Before the start of the season, their odds to win the Western Conference championship were 1:5000. With the playoffs just around the corner, they now have odds of reaching the Finals at 1:650. Thanks to an unprecedented superstar and his young role players, they are looking forward to the arrival of the championship.

(Original: Garrett Podell)

(Translator: Yongxin)