There were some moderate expectations placed on the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2023-24 NBA season. Last year’s campaign was marred by off-court incidents and media sound bites, but there were measures taken in the off-season to improve on those areas, and it was thought that Memphis would at least compete for a top-3 spot in the Western Conference if all went as planned.
Grizzlies Fall To 0-6, Worst Record In The NBA
The Grizzlies fall to 0-6 after an OT loss to the Blazers. pic.twitter.com/tRjqpKrtxk
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 4, 2023
It has not. It was known that there would be some adjusting to having to play without Ja Morant, who would be serving a 25-game suspension to start the season. The star point guard is being punished for his multiple gun-toting incidents from last year, and he won’t be back until close to Christmas, but there was reason to believe that the Grizzlies could weather the storm until then.
Perhaps the biggest move of the offseason for Memphis was the acquisition of Marcus Smart. The defensive-minded point guard spent the first nine years of his career with the Boston Celtics, and he is just one year removed from being the first guard to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award since 1996. And while he does currently lead the league in steals per game and has upped his scoring average, he hasn’t made enough of a difference to keep the team from falling to 0-6.
Defensive-Minded Team Not Excelling On Defense
Free my boy Marcus Smart manpic.twitter.com/4HuzZWJGKN
— Per Sources (@PerSources) November 4, 2023
In fact, the Grizzlies have the two most recent winners of the DPOY award, but rank 24th in points allowed and are dead last in opponent’s 3-point percentage.
Their shooting woes are partly to blame. They attempt the third-most three pointers of any team, but rank 22nd in three pointers made. Luke Kennard, who is typically one of the more accurate deep ball shooters in the NBA, has made just two threes so far this year on 17 attempts, good enough for a shooting percentage of 11.8%. Smart is shooting 30% from deep.
The Grizzlies are currently in the middle of a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers, who defeated Memphis in overtime on Friday. The second game will be played on Sunday and will give the Grizzlies a chance to be the final NBA team to pick up a victory.
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