MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The distance between the Rockets and Grizzlies bench is only a few feet, but Wednesday night’s sluggish 124-109 loss to Houston portrayed a perceptible stark contrast in atmosphere — particularly as it pertained to both starting point guards.
Every few minutes, whether it was offering encouragement and motivation for point guard Amen Thompson or simple instructions, Houston’s bench, led by head coach Ime Udoka and lead assistant Ben Sullivan, was in constant communication with Thompson. Since the beginning of the season — and especially in the wake of Fred VanVleet’s season-ending ACL injury — the Rockets have preached the importance of the collective, family-oriented approach in learning an updated system.
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A stone’s throw down the baseline, an entirely different world existed around Ja Morant and Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo. Memphis, much like Houston, is also in the process of learning a new system, but Morant’s body language, which was lacking at a somber morning shootaround, was off all evening. Outside of a mini briefing midway through the fourth quarter with the game already out of reach, Morant didn’t speak to Iisalo. During timeouts, Morant would be off to himself at either end of the bench, swimming in his own thoughts. There were no reassuring handshakes or taps from Iisalo whenever Morant was subbed out, the tension palpable within Fedex Forum. The 26-year-old struggled, finishing with 17 points on 6-for-19 shooting and six turnovers in 33 minutes.
It was that kind of night for Ja Morant and the Grizzlies in a home loss to Houston on Wednesday night. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
(Justin Ford via Getty Images)
The Grizzlies, who have now lost four in a row, look like a shell of the fun-loving, energetic brand they’ve worn proudly for years. Iisalo’s offense has been hard to digest for his players, Morant’s lack of enthusiasm is apparent, and forward Jaren Jackson Jr.’s diminished role has been a tough watch. Memphis built a name on its confidence and lovable arrogance, but neither is recognizable right now.
“Confidence comes from the body of work,” Iisalo said. “You keep working on a daily basis and eventually, it’ll work out. But you need to win. It’s very hard to build confidence if you’re consistently losing. It’s great to be around other guys when you’re winning, and when it’s losing, it tests you and reveals a lot of that character. We’re losing and it’s being tested and there’s only one way out from there.”
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“I just got to be better,” Morant added. “Reading the defense, shot selection and taking care of the ball.”
Morant took a mature approach to his struggles and the team’s recent performances — a welcome shift from the defensive, sharp tone at the beginning of the month — but it’s clear the chasm in understanding between himself and Iisalo has negatively affected his nightly outings.
When Iisalo speaks, it’s clear what the Finnish coach stands for. He leans quite heavily on advanced metrics, consistently referencing them in interviews. Iisalo also believes in his structure and system, which is more important than individual players. His European background speaks to a deep belief in the scheme, the bigger picture and how to get players to adapt instead of the other way around. His constant overtures about pace have seen the Grizzlies become one of the league’s fastest teams, currently fourth in that mark, according to Second Spectrum.
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But running for the sheer sake of it, without proper installation of concepts that adhere to your best players, can only last so long before frustration and doubt creep in. Memphis is just 24th in rim rate, forced to take the bulk of their shots from midrange and the perimeter as a result of opposing defenses packing the paint and shutting off valves for Morant and Jackson. It’s also no surprise the Grizzlies, who saw the departures of Desmond Bane, Jake LaRavia, Jay Huff and Luke Kennard, find themselves sitting 24th in 3-point percentage.
Morant’s rim attacks have cratered and his outside shots have spiked, resulting in offensive efficiency that’s down across the board, and Jackson, who had drastically improved over the last two years as a go-to weapon, is averaging his lowest usage rate since his rookie season (21.7%, per Cleaning the Glass). Jackson took just six shots against Houston, his lowest output in a regular-season or preseason game this year. The Grizzlies were built on the two-man strengths of Morant and Jackson, but learning Iisalo’s offense has been a struggle and is currently doing more harm than good.
“Overall, I think our offense right now is very stagnant from a player and ball movement standpoint,” Iisalo said. “And that’s something we need to fix. We need to do a better job as a coaching staff for organizing all five players.”
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“The longer you’ve done [something different], it’ll take a little longer than the average person to snap back into something new,” Jackson told Yahoo Sports. “You have to have full belief in it and have to give yourself up for it, full belief that it will work every single time. Otherwise, you’re going to be hesitant. Any little bit of hesitation in professional sports will get you a loss.”
It doesn’t get any easier for Memphis. Five of its next six games are against the Thunder, Knicks, Celtics, Cavaliers and Spurs. The consensus from the Grizzlies locker room was spacing is a major issue right now, which leaves the door open for lineup and rotational changes. Iisalo alluded to not opting for an overabundance of creators in the same group, but reserve Santi Aldama has played next to Jackson before and could easily slot alongside him in a smaller frontcourt. Rookie Cedric Coward is another option and could be given a shot as Jaylen Wells has struggled from outside, shooting just 22% from 3 on the season.
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There’s also plenty of room for on-court adjustments, dialing back some of the perimeter heaves and focusing more on creating driving angles for Morant, early post-ups and isolations for Jackson, and a slower, more deliberate tempo.
Regardless of the next steps, something has to give. Morant needs to be better. Iisalo needs to be better. Memphis needs to be better.
“Just turn the page,” Morant said. “Come in tomorrow, have a good day of practice and watch the film. Go over the things we need to correct. Guys and coaches speak their mind and be ready to go for the next game.”