Analyzing the key reasons behind Memphis Grizzlies posting the best offensive and the worst defensive rating in the 2021-22 NBA season so far
Prior to their overtime matchup with the Golden State Warriors, the Memphis Grizzlies were owners of both the NBA's best offensive rating and worst defensive rating. After the showdown, they sit fifth on offense and 26th on defense with five games under their belt.
These results are shocking considering that the Memphis Grizzlies ended the 2020-21 season with the 15th best offensive rating and seventh-highest defensive rating. With offseason changes made to the roster, it almost seemed as if the Memphis Grizzlies were committing further to their defense before the offensive approach.
Those roster changes include subtracting Jonas Valancuinas (their second most impactful offensive player), Grayson Allen, Gorgui Dieng and Justice Winslow. They added Steven Adams, Jarrett Culver and Sam Merrill. The Memphis Grizzlies also moved up in the draft to select Stanford product, Ziaire Williams, who is not projected to have much impact in year one. Santa Aldama was the other draft pick for the Memphis Grizzlies that night.
Some of their similar faces have taken on an increased workload this season and have performed well so far. The last other notable aspect of the roster is that Dillion Brooks has not participated in any of the Memphis Grizzlies' first five games. He will be sidelined for a few weeks with a fractured left-hand.
With all that out of the way, here are three reasons the Memphis Grizzlies have been shockingly stellar on offense and poor on defense early in the 2021-22 NBA season.
#3 Jaren Jackson Jr. playing the five
The Memphis Grizzlies have tested their young big man, Jaren Jackson Jr., alongside another big man as well as the lone size factor on the floor throughout his first three seasons in the NBA.
Year three is a tough measure for Jackson considering the played just 11 games due to an unfortunate injury that derailed his season. This season, however, Jackson has been starting at the forward position alongside Steven Adams but often finds himself as the center on the floor after Adams heads to the bench. The Memphis Grizzlies have played Jackson as the lone big man for 49 percent of his total minutes this season, per basketball-reference.
Offensively, this supplies ideal spacing for centerpiece Ja Morant to attack the rim and not run into opposing bodies. Jaren Jackson Jr. is a more than willing shooter from beyond the arc, currently converting his 7.2 threes per night at a 33.3 percent rate. Given what we have seen in the years prior, that percentage is expected to go up significantly while the volume remains.
As for the defensive end, Jackson has plenty of flashes, but his potential has not been actualized on a consistent basis since joining the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018. With a notably small sample of just 25 attempts, opposing players are converting 76 percent of their shots at the rim with Jackson nearby.
Jaren Jackson Jr.'s play, specifically when he was the center, has been a significant reason the Memphis Grizzlies have excelled on offense and struggled on defense.