“Worst to first” always sounds so good. What the Memphis Grizzlies are accomplishing offensively is at a level that’s never occurred across a full season of the NBA shot clock era.
Leave it to the Indiana Pacers to beat the Memphis Grizzlies coming out of the All-Star break Thursday night.
Indiana ranked No. 1 in the NBA in scoring last season and the Grizzlies were dead last, so the Pacers’ 127-113 victory makes sense.
Well, not totally.
This season, it’s the Grizzlies who are leading the NBA in scoring, averaging 123.1 points per game.
It’s a worst-to-first turnaround that’s never occurred over a full NBA season. The Grizzlies’ plus-17.3 points per game from last season’s 105.8 average would be the best year-over-year improvement since the NBA introduced the shot clock in 1954-55.
In Memphis, that’s sweet sounding.
(Graphic by Graham Bell)Right back in action and heading into the scoring column at Orlando Friday night, the Grizzlies enter with a 36-19 record – third overall in the Western Conference as the Southwest Division leader. They’re fourth in TRACR.
It’s added up to the Grizz putting last season’s 27-55 disaster (a 24-win drop-off from 2022-23) behind them. This season’s .326 increase in winning percentage is topped only by the Detroit Pistons (+.356).
The scoring marked the low number a season ago; the high numbers centered around injuries. Their roster combined to lose 578 games due to injuries, they utilized 33 players and had 51 different starting lineups – all unheard of in NBA history.
Of particular note, point guard Ja Morant was limited to nine games – part of a troubled couple years with injury and league suspensions. In his return this season, he’s played 33 times, only 60% of the Grizzlies’ overall games, so the team’s scoring improvement extends way behind him.
Quality depth, more so than balance, fuels the Grizzlies’ incredible scoring improvement. They have a league-high 11 players with 300+ points.
In fact, two-time All-Star power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (2.1 DRIP), ironically even better on defense than on offense, is their only player who ranks in the NBA’s top 50 qualified scoring leaders – a career-high 22.9 points per game, or 24th overall. Morant (20.4) doesn’t meet the games minimum, so you have to go further down the NBA scoring leaders to find Desmond Bane (18.3, 51st), Santi Aldama (12.8, 91st) and Jaylen Wells (11.3, 109th) as Memphis’ other double-figure scorers.
Morant’s style of play has reminded everybody to move with quicker tempo. With an improvement in offensive spacing, the Grizzlies rank second to Denver in points in the paint. Also, their shooting is better across the board – 48.4% on field goals, 37.4% on 3-pointers and 76.9% on free throws, up from last season’s 43.5/34.6/76.4 line.
Player availability brings a smile to sixth-year coach Taylor Jenkins. Jackson’s 66 games played last season were the team high (yes, the team leader missed 20% of the games), but he’s played in 53 of 55 games this season. Wells and Scotty Pippen Jr. haven’t missed a game.
The Grizzlies have gone above last season’s scoring average with 106 or more points in all but two games, and that was back in November when they were still shaking off the cobwebs of a lost campaign.
They were so glad to match last season’s win total on Jan. 17 that they did so by dropping 140 points at San Antonio. It was their fifth time at least there this season, with their 155 points against Toronto on Dec. 26 marking the NBA’s single-game high.
The Memphis Grizzlies vs. Pacers matchup was fun, but Friday night in Orlando isn’t too shabby. The Grizz face a Magic squad that ranks second in NBA scoring defense.
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