After a great victory over LeBron and the Lakers, the Grizzlies seemed to lack focus against LeBron’s former team. Memphis got by with a 95-87 victory over the Cavaliers. Cleveland did not make their first field goal until 4:26 remaining in the first quarter, and somehow the Grizzlies only lead by 9 at that point. By halftime the Cavs had shot only 29 percent from the field.

Memphis eventually operated from a double digit lead for most of the game, until a late rally from Cleveland. The Cavs cut the lead down to 7 points with 3:32 remaining in the game, and then to 4 with 1:19 left. From that point forward the Grizzlies finally put the game away, opening up an 11 point lead, before winning the game by 8.

Observations

1. The Grizzlies Defense Against a Bad Offense

The Cavaliers posted a 96.1 offensive rating in this game. For context, the Bulls are 30th in the league in offensive rating, at 101.1. That 5 point difference spans the distance between the 1st placed Warriors and 18th placed Wizards. Cleveland did not score a field goal until 4:26 remaining in the first quarter. In fact, the Cavaliers didn’t even break double digits until the second quarter.

The @memgrizz held the Cavaliers to 9 points in the first quarter, an opponent low for any quarter this season.

— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) December 27, 2018

Memphis forced Cleveland into a 13.8 percent turnover rate, close to the Grizzlies’ 2nd best 14.5 percent mark on the season. The Cavs also posted an eFG percent of 40.1 in this game, a mark that would be dead last in the league by a mile.

2. The Grizzlies Offense When Conley Struggles

If Mike Conley is off the mark, this offense ain’t pretty. We knew this, but it becomes very apparent when Memphis cannot get anything else going against Cleveland, the team last in defensive rating this year.

Conley shot 6/16 from the field, missed all five of his three-point attempts, and finished with 15 points.

As a team the Grizzlies shot 22.7 percent from three on 22 attempts, and only put up 72 total field goal tries. What saved them in this game, aside from the defense, was getting to the line 24 times.

Also Marc Gasol..

3. Marc Gasol Health Watch

Marc Gasol has admittedly been playing injured, but the last two games seem to indicate he is on the mend. Last night against Cleveland he registered a GameScore of 22.2, his highest in a month.

Gasol posted 20 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 blocks. He got to the line seven times and hit all seven of his attempts, including two with 26 seconds left that essentially iced the game by pushing the lead to 11.

Questions

1. Will We Get More Kyle Anderson Soon?

Prior to this two game win streak, the Grizzlies had dropped 5 in a row and 7 of 8 overall. Something needs to change, either in scheme or rotation. After a failed trade to bring in Kelly Oubre for more fire power, Memphis has to look within for more offense until further notice.

Anderson has not had a huge impact since joining the Grizzlies, but his contributions are of the quiet variety, typical of his San Antonio tenure. Anderson is posting a B- or better in 9 of our 11 grading categories. He is posting a grade higher than his career average in 7 categories; off-ball movement, finishing, playmaking, post play, interior defense, offensive rebounding, and defensive rebounding.

Among small forwards, Anderson is 6th in D-PIPM and 4th in DRPM. But Memphis is going to need to start utilizing him for scoring. He is grading as an A- in post play, and is shooting a healthy 67 percent at the rim this season. In lineups where Anderson is at the 4 with a stretch 5, the Grizzlies should utilize him in the post to take advantage of his efficient scoring and A- playmaking grade.

2. Is This The Rotation?

J.B. Bickerstaff used ten players last night. The typical five man unit started; Conley, Garrett Temple, Anderson, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Gasol. Then five off the bench; JaMychal Green, Joakim Noah, Shelvin Mack, Wayne Selden, and Dillon Brooks. Ivan Rabb, Omri Casspi, and MarShon Brooks did not see any time.

Is this how Bickerstaff is going to handle the rotation moving forward? This is the first game in which both Noah and Brooks were available. If so MarShon Brooks appears to be the odd man out.

Prediction

Jaren Jackson Jr. Will Get a Greener Light

Last night Jackson tried so new things. He attempted several spin moves, and spent more time dribbling than he normally does. It wasn’t a rather successful endeavor, as this resulted in a few turnovers.

But the Grizzlies are becoming desperate for non-Conley scoring that they may need to take some of the reigns off JJJ and deal with the growing pains.