Jaren Jackson Jr. battles for the opening possession. (Photo: NBAE/Getty Images.)
On the second night of back-to-back games, the Memphis Grizzlies decimated the Washington Wizards without Ja Morant and Desmond Bane.
With a final score of 140-112, the Grizzlies emerged from their weekend road trip 2-0.
After a hard-fought win against the Boston Celtics in which he scored a season-high 31 points, Ja Morant sat out against the Wizards with back soreness.
Expect Memphis to continue its cautionary approach to managing Morant’s injuries.
But even without two of their best players, the Grizzlies looked poised, prepared, and just plain better than their opponents, largely thanks to their incredible depth.
Scotty Pippen Jr. and Marcus Smart moved into the starting lineup, but even without them, the bench outscored the starters 76-64.
The Wizards were led on both ends of the court by a familiar face — Lithuanian big man Jonas Valančiūnas, who played for the Grizzlies from 2019-2021.
Despite Valanciunas’ 20-point, 14-rebound double-double, the Wizards had no answer for the Grizzlies. Washington held a two-point lead for a grand total of 47 seconds in the first quarter.
— Grizzlies On FanDuel Sports Network (@FDSN_Grizzlies) December 9, 2024
Memphis was led offensively by Jaren Jackson Jr., who fielded 21 points, four rebounds, and four blocks on 8 of 15 overall shooting and 3 of 8 from beyond the arc — all in a mere 16:46 minutes of playing time.
Scotty Pippen Jr. looked right at home back in the starting lineup, delivering 14 points, 12 assists, and 2 steals on 6 of 11 shooting from the field.
Marcus Smart was similarly at ease moving from the bench unit to the starters, putting up 13 points and three rebounds while shooting 5 of 8 from the field and 3 of 6 from three-point range.
Brandon Clarke was coming off his best game of the season against the Celtics but still had a respectable showing against the Wizards. He finished the night with 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Jay Huff and Santi Aldama celebrate during the game against the Washington Wizards. (Photo: NBAE/Getty Images.)
Santi Aldama was the leading scorer off the bench with 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one steal, and three blocks while shooting 7 of 11 overall and a team-best 3 of 5 from beyond the arc.
Reserve center Jay Huff finished the night with 17 points and three rebounds while rookie shooting guard Cam Spencer added 14 points, four rebounds, and five assists on 4 of 8 shooting from the field and 2 of 4 from three-point range in his third ever NBA game.
We even got a brief appearance from Yuki Kawamura in the fourth quarter:
SUNDAY SCARIES DON'T EXIST WHEN WE LIVE IN A WORLD WITH YUKI KAWAMURA SPLASHING IN STEPBACK THREES IN OUR NATION'S CAPITAL pic.twitter.com/kAKI1hMh6H
The next two games are recent additions to the schedule, among other teams that have also been eliminated from the NBA Cup: Friday, December 13th, at home against the Brooklyn Nets, with a 7 p.m. CST tip-off time, and Sunday, December 15th, on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers, tipping off at 8:30 p.m. CST.
Jaren Jackson Jr. #13 drives to the basket during the game against the Washington Wizards on November 8, 2024. (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored a season-high 39 points on 14-for-28 shooting, leading the Memphis Grizzlies to a convincing 128-104 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
The Michigan State alum is having a phenomenal season, boasting averages of 22 points per game, 56% shooting from the field, 40% from three-point range, and a 65% true-shooting percentage.
Last season, team injuries thrust Jackson Jr. into the spotlight, sparking a remarkable growth that prepared him for this season.
“I think last year and this summer for sure,” Jackson Jr. said, on what prepared him for his performance to help the Grizzlies improve to 6-4 on the season. “Being able to read defenses better — make better decisions for the ball with higher usage, and figuring out what defenses are doing against you and kind of making the adjustment.”
“Like Tuomas (Iisalo, Grizzlies assistant coach) says, ‘Whatever the defense does, they’re wrong.’ It just means that adjustment.”
The 25-year-old says his versatility on the court comes from understanding matchups and starting strategies, but also from being adaptable. He avoids relying solely on three-pointers early on and capitalizes on open shots from his team’s offense. He Friday night, he showed his ability to read defenses and make lightning-fast decisions based on defenders’ movements, positioning, and help-side rotations.
And he really wanted that 40 piece, but the game was already out of hand.
“For sure I definitely wanted to get it (40 points) the right way. If it ain’t meant (to be), it ain’t meant (to be). (I) didn’t do enough. I missed a free throw. So there you go.” His career-high is 44 points.
“Heck of a game from Trip [Jaren Jackson Jr.],” said Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins on Jackson Jr. “Obviously, just the opportunity to be a primary playmaker, diversify his game, there were a couple pick-and-rolls stuck in there by his teammates, but just playing on the perimeter, playing out of the post, just getting that gravitational pull and still being able to finish.”
“Obviously, it was motivating going into the season, because he had had a career year on the offensive side,” Jenkins continued. “So regardless of what our lineups are, I want him to still carry that mentality of being a primary attack guy for us.”
Jenkins concluded: “And, that’s on me to make sure that he’s feeling involved and just playing within our pace and our principles. It’s great to see him have that opportunity tonight and take full advantage of it.”
Scotty Pippen Jr. made history on Friday by earning his first career triple-double, with 11 points (4-8 FG, 3-4 FT), a career-high 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. This milestone places him alongside his father, Scottie Pippen, as the first father-son duo in NBA history to record triple-doubles during their careers.
11 PTS 💥 10 REB 💥 11 AST
Scotty Pippen Jr. posted his FIRST NBA TRIPLE-DOUBLE in the @memgrizz 24-point win over the Wizards! The #GLeagueAlum already has four games of 10+ AST this season. pic.twitter.com/sJ8svNUSq8
Pippen Jr. didn’t even know he had made history. “No, I’ve never even heard of that. I would just say crazy,” he said. “I don’t know if I have any words to describe how that feels. Just making history will always be a great thing, but to be the father-son duo to do it is definitely a great thing.”
The 23-year-old wasn’t aware he was close to a triple-double until his injured teammate Ja Morant alerted him. He said, “Ja [Morant] had said something to me — he said I was two away. I don’t know if he meant rebounds, assists or what it was. I was trying to feed Jaren [Jackson Jr.] to get the last two assists, and he started missing. I knew I was going to be coming out of the game soon because he was up, so I was just trying to get my teammates together.”
Jaren Jackson Jr. was happy with Pippen Jr.’s history-making performance.
Jaren Jackson Jr. talking about Scotty Pippen Jr. achieving something no other father-son duo has achieved with the triple double pic.twitter.com/VveBOrqtFb
Grizzlies rookie Yuki Kawamura showed why he’s a fan favorite. When games get out of hand, the crowd in the FedExForum always chants, “We want Yuki.” When he entered the game, they were in for a treat.
Ja Morant (12) and Yuki Kawamura dance at the Memphis Grizzlies open practice on October 6th at FedExForum. (Photos: Wes Hale)
Injuries and frustrations plagued the Memphis Grizzlies for most of the 2023–2024 season, beginning with standout point guard Ja Morant’s 25-game ban. Even after making a triumphant return, Morant was sidelined with a season-ending shoulder surgery that limited him to playing just nine games.
Coming off two seasons when they were near the top of the Western Conference, this young club was humbled and finished near the bottom of the standings.
By the time the regular season ended, Memphis had most of its roster on the injured list. They took on a record number of 10-day contracts to have the minimally allowed number of available players and relied heavily on the players on two-way contracts. No team in NBA history has employed more players and starting lineups than the Grizzlies last season.
The departure of Steven Adams to the Houston Rockets and the minimal playing time that backup Brandon Clarke had in the previous season after undergoing Achilles tendon surgery left the Grizzlies in dire need of a competent big man heading into the offseason.
With the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the Grizzlies acquired 7’4” Purdue center Zach Edey, who addressed a gap in the team’s roster. The remainder of the league is in for some terrifying hours if Edey’s preseason dominance continues into the regular season and beyond.
Along with Edey, the Grizzlies selected small forward Jaylen Wells with the 39th pick in the draft. As the lone Grizzlies player to reach double digits in five preseason games, Wells was a shining example of the team’s potential on both ends of the floor.
After Derrick Rose asked to be waived and subsequently retired from the league, another roster spot became available. As a result, Scotty Pippen Jr.’s two-way contract was converted to a standard multi-year deal while Yuki Kawamura went from having an Exhibit 10 contract to having a two-way offer.
Scotty Pippen Jr. shoots the ball during warm-ups before the preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets at FedExForum on October 10th.
New Beginnings
Will both atonement and vengeance drive the Grizzlies’ efforts this year?
The Grizzlies will be considered underdogs to begin the season due to recency bias in the national media’s expected rankings. That being said, it’s for the best because that’s where this squad excels.
“We know who we are; we know what we’re capable of. It’s just about going out there and doing it now,” Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane said during media day.
The previous two seasons prove that Memphis can inflict havoc at the top of the Western Conference when healthy, so fans should see last season’s dismal record as more of an outlier than anything else. They have the ability to get back on track in the standings. It may not be returning to the second seed, but it definitely will be an improvement over the previous position in last year’s campaign.
With former Defensive Players of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marcus Smart plus defensive menace Vince Williams Jr., this organization has a strong defensive foundation. Memphis was 12th in the NBA in defensive rating last season, despite their entire season being a train wreck.
Solid role players, including three-point shooters and young, adaptable talent, complement the club’s depth that is already strong thanks to Bane, Jackson Jr., and its spark Morant.
Forward GG Jackson II, who made a meteoric rise to prominence last season at the tender age of 19, is someone the Grizzlies are keeping their fingers crossed for. He was the game-changer in a doomed season and earned himself a standard contract. With 6’9”, highly athletic Jackson II on the court, it provides the team dynamic options, particularly in half-court sets. Last season, fans didn’t get to witness Jackson II and Morant develop a connection on the court.
Since Jackson II is still healing from foot surgery, we should expect to see him start the season sometime in December, so we will need to exercise patience till we witness his and Morant’s synergy.
The Grizzlies need to get back to their brand of basketball. When Memphis was the Western Conference runner-up in 2021–22 and 2022–23, they averaged more points in the paint than any other team in the league. They had the worst point differential and placed 13th in the Western Conference a season ago.
The squad now is looking to boast a more dynamic offensive game thanks to Taylor Jenkins and his reorganized coaching staff. Last year, Memphis’ offensive rating was the worst in the league.
Edey and Morant’s pick-and-rolls will feed families this season. Edey’s fit into the starting center position will allow Jackson Jr. to play at the four, where he excels.
Making a deep run in the playoffs is within reach if Memphis can avoid significant injuries this upcoming season.
12 Is Back
Given that the NBA is known as a “what have you done for me lately” league, some may have forgotten about Morant’s presence on the court.
“A happy Ja is a scary Ja,” according to Morant, who made the bold proclamation during last month’s media day.
Morant showed flashes of his dominance in the last preseason game this past Friday. In 25 minutes of play, Morant ended with 17 points and six assists in the preseason finale. He called his performance light and implied a secret weapon will be seen in the season opener in Utah.
The South Carolina native was thrilled to return to FedExForum after injury, citing fans as his driving force and motivation to perform. It was his first time playing before the home crowd since January 3, 2024.
In 2022–23, his last complete season (61 games), he played 31.9 minutes per game and averaged 26.2 points, 8.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals.
He understands that his availability is crucial to the Grizzlies’ success, so he’s been making an effort to avoid injuries and off-the-court issues like those that nearly derailed his career.
The two-time All-Star is still one of the league’s most exciting players, and he will make sure the league remembers who he is.
