Joe Murphy (NBAE/Getty Images)
Tyreke Evans
Fresh off a victory over the Warriors, the Grizzlies went to Houston last night and beat the Rockets 98–90 in a classic, Grind-inflected battle of wills. It was an unexpected win, but once the game got going, you could see what was happening: the Grizzlies’ defense, well ahead of schedule, was driving Houston crazy, and as usual, the offense was just doing enough to break even. A fourth-quarter outburst from Mike Conley pushed the Grizzlies over the edge (and the Rockets over the edge of frustration) and the Griz were suddenly 3–0 and in possession of first place in the Western Conference. (You can go on and start the playoffs now, Mr. Silver.)
Here are four key points from last night, in abbreviated “road game” form:
★ TA left, but Grit and Grind did not. I thought the Grizzlies would struggle on defense this year, but in Tony Allen’s absence they’re actually doing a better job implementing the system Fizdale tried to put in place last year. The Grizzlies switch now, and they do it well, and the fact that they’re all bought in instead of gambling for steals at every opportunity might mean they’re actually better off. If driving the opponent’s star player to draw a frustration-based tech while holding the score under 100 isn’t Classic Grizzlies, I don’t know what is.
★ Jarell Martin has to get better defensively. Houston saw a weakness in Martin’s pick and roll defense and exploited it ruthlessly. Of course, he’s not the intended starter at that spot, but until JaMychal Green gets back, Martin needs to do a better job of holding down the fort on that end. I was having Zach Randolph Western Conference Finals flashbacks watching him get burned on possession after possession.
★ James Ennis is the best starting small forward since Rudy Gay and it’s not close. I said that already after the Warriors game but I think people are still sleeping on this fact.
★ The second unit is going to get weird when the injured guys return. I’m not sure who I’d give the minutes to right now, or from whom I would take them. The current ten-man rotation feels straight out of the Hubie Brown playbook.
Tweet of the Night
No team will have better back-to-back wins this year than Memphis beating Golden State & Houston. Really impressive 3-0 start for the Grizz.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 24, 2017
Grizzlies 98, Rockets 90: Road Rundown
Up Next
The Grizzlies are in Dallas Wednesday night and then return home Thursday night to play… Dallas. After that it’s another matchup with the Rockets, this time in Memphis, on Saturday night, which—given the near-fisticuffs between James Harden and Mario Chalmers near the end of last night’s game—may get interesting.
