The charm of competitive sports lies in the uncertainty, including the process and outcome of each game, as well as the effect of offseason operations.
Every offseason there are teams that are questioned for certain operations, but every year there are teams that become unexpected big winners. For example, the introduction of Demar DeRozan was ridiculed as a bull, and the grizzly bear who was criticized for self-defunct martial arts last year.
On January 12, Beijing time, the Grizzlies defeated the Warriors 116-108 at home to win 10 consecutive games, and in the history of the Grizzlies, this is the first time they have won 10 consecutive wins. Currently, the Grizzlies have the 5th-highest win percentage in the league, behind the Suns, Warriors, Jazz and Bulls.
You know, the Grizzlies have not had a neat lineup this season, with more than 10 missed games in the backcourt doubles last season, and recently starting center Adams was isolated and unable to play. The Grizzlies have won 10 straight games in an uneven lineup and are truly unexpected in sitting in the West. Especially considering that a series of operations by the Grizzlies in the offseason were also criticized for "self-destruction of martial arts" and "no pursuit", the current result is even more surprising.
Last season, the Grizzlies unexpectedly beat the Warriors through the playoffs to make it to the playoffs as eighth in the West. Although the Grizzlies lost 4-1 to the Jazz in the first round, the upward momentum displayed by the Grizzlies was amazing. Supposedly, the Grizzlies should use more than $23 million in salary space to further strengthen their strengths as long as they are pursuing the offseason, but the Grizzlies management has taken a seemingly negative approach.
In a three-way trade with the Pelicans and Hornets, the Grizzlies sent away starting center Valanciunas in exchange for Steven Adams, while upgrading the 2021 first-round pick to the No. 10 pick to choose Zaire Williams. Of course, the deal can be interpreted as "the Grizzlies want to upgrade the interior defense", but in fact, everyone can see that the Grizzlies just don't want to face the renewal of Valanciunas. Even the Grizzlies' choice of Williams with the No. 10 pick was also ridiculed, as Williams University averaged just 10 points per game at Stanford.
After that, the Grizzlies sent Grayson Allen away, and they just didn't want to give Allen a contract extension. As for sending Bledsoe to Beverly and Rondo, and then cutting Rondo and sending Beverley to the Timberwolves, the Grizzlies are almost like supporting their competitors in the West for free.
For a time, the management of the Grizzlies was criticized, and people lamented that "small market teams are really reluctant to spend money." But now, halfway through the race, those who questioned the Grizzlies have discovered that this wave of Grizzlies management is in the atmosphere.
The strength of the Grizzlies must have begun with Morant, who has averaged 24.7 points and 6.7 assists per game this season, shooting 49 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from three-point range. Morant is the top scorer in the basket this season, and his breakthrough is a tough solution to the Grizzlies' positional warfare. Playing a strong team, Morant's presence can both guarantee the lower limit of the Grizzlies and increase the upper limit of the Grizzlies.
Morant just returned to the Grizzlies' losing streak, and there was a voice saying "Morant is not stronger than the Grizzlies", but after a few tough fights between the Grizzlies and the Suns, Lakers, Nets and Cavaliers recently, this voice has dissipated. In 4 uphill battles, Morant scored more than 30 points in 3 games and 26 points in one game.
But the Grizzlies are clearly stronger than just because of Morant, after all, in the 12 games that Morant missed, the Grizzlies also won 10 games. Brooks was injured again recently after Morant returned, playing just 30 minutes during his 10-game winning streak. That is, in the last 24 games, the Grizzlies have won 20-4, during which half of the games have not been without Morant, and nearly half of the games have been without Brooks.
At a glance at the offensive efficiency rankings, the Grizzlies have ranked 5th in the league in offensive efficiency this season, up two notches from 15th last season. How exactly did they do it? This has to start with the much-criticized deal in the offseason.
From the book, the Grizzlies exchanged Valanciunas for Adams is an offensive relegation, after all, Valanciunas averaged 17.1 points per game last season, can grab offensive rebounds in low singles and can also eat cake, and Valanciunas has been trying to develop three-point projections in recent years. Adams, on the other hand, had no ability to attack with the ball, and even had very few blocks. This season, Adams' low-post offense and blocking down-and-down offense have only been five rounds combined, and his scoring is basically derived from switching offense, empty cut, and secondary offense.
Theoretically, Adams replaced Valanciunas and the Grizzlies' offense should have gone down, and that's true. But if it's not that the Grizzlies management is in the atmosphere, in this day and age, the low-post offense is seen as synonymous with inefficiency, unless you're Jokic and Embiid. The Grizzlies made the deal to cut the low-post offense (Valanciunas' low-post offense was close to 25 percent last season) and turn that part of the ball into a blocking offense and Adams' high-level strategy. The tweak turned out to be excellent, with Adams having twice as many assists as Valanciunas, and nearly half of his assists went to Desmond Bain.
As the 2020 No. 30 pick, Bane's rise this season has been a surprise, averaging 17.7 points per game, scoring 21.3 points per 36 minutes, shooting 42.8% from three-point range, and is already a strong contender for the Fastest Progressive Player Award. Bain played in college for 4 years and was a 3D player for the first 3 seasons, but the final season of college began to strengthen the ability to hold the ball. Due to his age at the time of the draft and the fact that his arm span was too short and his static talent was average, Bane fell to the 30th overall pick before being selected.
Bain's first season with the Grizzlies was also playing as a 3D player, but last offseason, the Grizzlies decided to give him more responsibility, and during the summer league they let Bane hold the ball a lot and experiment with him as the core of the ball. Originally, Bane had been studying Joe Harris's footage, and then he began to study the footage of McCollum and Devon Booker, learning how to play with the ball and without the ball.
"We talked about playing in the summer league with him as the main ball-holding point, which gave him more confidence in using different offensive styles in switching offenses and blocking," Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said.
This season, Bane remains the league's top no-ball shooter, scoring 1.214 points per game on a targeted shot. At the same time, after a large part of the ball that originally belonged to Valanciunas came to Bain, Bain's holding scene increased, and he scored 0.914 points per game in the blocking, more than 70% of the league's players, compared with only 0.6 points per round last season. In the blocking, The proportion of Bain's passes has increased to 45.3%, and his teammates have received him to block and dismantle the pass to score 1.039 points per round, and he has become an excellent blocking attacker and above average level of blocking and dismantling instigators.
That's not the limit of Bain, and now at the end of each training session, Bane is still reinforcing his ball-holding attack with his assistant coach, saying: "I want to be a better finisher, a better organizer, these are what I want to strengthen further in the attack with the ball, I want to be a scorer with a triple threat of shooting, sudden and passing." ”
After Signing a four-year, $105 million contract, Jaren Jackson showed no clear signs of improvement, and he had regressed in terms of efficiency. It seems that after suffering a serious injury to a meniscus tear, Jackson still has not adjusted to his condition. However, Jackson's progress on the defensive end is evident, with the Grizzlies doing better defensively when he plays center, with the Grizzlies conceding just 103.5 points per 100-game and improving to 109 points when he's not on the floor. This season, Jackson Town has guarded the basket and shot just 49.1 percent from the field.
The Grizzlies now have a good core lineup, the oldest of Morant, Bain, and Jackson is only 23 years old, Brooks is only 26 years old, Adams is 28 years old, and for at least 2 years, the Grizzlies starting five-man group will not change much. On the bench, the Grizzlies also have a group of elite players, Tyrus Jones is already the top of the line among excellent bench point guards, Brandon Clark, Kyle Anderson, D'Antoni Melton are all good substitutes. In the Adams trade, the Grizzlies also won the forward-sized Williams with the no. 10 pick, and the Grizzlies bench players have averaged 37 points per game this season.
It is worth mentioning that this group of players, except for Jackson, everyone else can be regarded as a model of "counterattack life". Morant had no fame in his first year of high school and college, Bane was the No. 30 show, Jones was only the No. 24 show, Clark was the No. 21 show, and Brooks and Melton were all second-round shows. They can have today, in addition to their own efforts, the grizzly bear's insight and careful cultivation are also the key.
The next key for the Grizzlies is when and how they should make the leap. "The Athletic" data analysis expert John Hollinger, who worked for the Grizzlies, believes that the Grizzlies are still short of a top 20 star in the league to partner with Morant, and if the Grizzlies can complete the stud, they will go straight to the championship group.
The Grizzlies are now at a critical juncture, and whether they can complete the leap depends on whether the next step can be done properly. On the surface, the Grizzlies have more than $20 million in salary space this year, but on the one hand, there are no big fish in the free market this summer, and on the other hand, if the Grizzlies use the salary space to renew their own benches, it seems a bit wasteful, so if they want to make a leap, the Grizzlies have to consider trading this road.
In 2022, the Grizzlies have three first-round picks in their hands, and their future first-round picks are also in their hands. With Jones and Anderson facing contract extensions this offseason (Morant must be a salary extension this offseason), and a year later Brooks, Adams and Clark are also facing contract extensions, and the Grizzlies have the opportunity to use the high-quality puzzle pieces and a lot of draft picks that are expiring to make a stud trade.
What heights can the Grizzlies reach this season? Can the future Grizzlies be the new small market paradigm? What the answers to these two puzzles are are so curious.