Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.
The most interesting game of the week was the Phoenix/Golden State tilt, and the Suns got the 104-96 win. As a consequence, they have overtaken the Warriors for #1 in the rankings. But we’ve talked about both of these teams plenty so far this year. Let’s instead look at a team that just set the NBA record for margin of victory: the Memphis Grizzlies. Yes, it was against a young and inexperienced Thunder team missing their best player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is in the concussion protocol right now. But the Grizzlies were missing their best player as well, with Ja Morant out for a couple of weeks with a knee injury. After losing the game in which Morant was injured (against the #9 Hawks), Memphis reeled off three wins in a row to finish off the week. The victories were against Sacramento (#23), Toronto (#22), and Oklahoma City (#26), so they were games a good team should win. But they did, especially Thursday night’s 153-79 dismantling of the ex-Sonics. This 3-1 week helped the Grizzlies move up 6 spots to #12, but at 12-10, are they actually any good?
Memphis has one of the best young talents in the league in Morant, who’s averaging 24.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 6.8 APG on 47.6/35.6/77.7 shooting splits. Ja is relentlessly penetrating and going to the rim, averaging 19.7 drives/game (per nba.com), which is second to the aforementioned Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s also shooting the 3 well enough to make space for his drives and creating well for his teammates. The other young talent in Memphis is Jaren Jackson, Jr., who has yet to make the leap into stardom. Part of the reason has been the constant injuries, but he is showing flashes of being that second star for the Grizz. He’s shooting well from deep at 37.3% at volume (6.1 attempts per game) as well as using his 6’11” frame to generate 2.1 BPG, 4th best in the league. If he can provide that inside/outside balance to Morant’s consistent driving and creating, the Grizzlies are onto something. They have a mix of young prospects (Desomd Bane, De’Anthony Melton, Killian Tillie, Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman, Jarrett Culver) and a few solid veterans (Steven Adams, Kyle Anderson, Tyus Jones). Memphis probably either needs one or two of the young guys to make big strides or to add another star to become a serious contender, but they should be able to compete for a playoff spot again after getting in last year (the Jazz knocked them out in 5 games in the first round). Overall, the rebuild from the grit and grind Marc Gasol Grizzlies is going well.
The Pistons had another bad week, losing all 4 games. The losing streak is up to 8, and Detroit continues to have very bad stretches to fall into a deep hole, then claw all the way back before falling just short and losing anyway. The team is playing hard, and Cunningham’s last two games were a real bright spot. He went for 26 on 10-13 shooting (including 5-7 from 3) against #16 Portland and followed that up with 19 on 8-15 and 3-5 from three against #1 Phoenix Thursday night. That efficiency has been missing much of the year, but it’s a great sign. Much of this year will be tracking Cade as he figures out how to play against NBA defenders, but that’s better that being stuck in the mediocrity loop the Pistons had been for years and years.
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