Through Memphis’ first 19 games of the season, they were very… pedestrian. Even though Ja Morant has been having a breakout All-NBA worthy season, the Grizz haven’t exactly been reaping the benefits of Ja’s success. However, since Ja Morant went down with a knee injury, Memphis has turned into a well oiled machine winning 7 out of 8 games without their star PG which has catapulted them to 4th place in the West as of today. So, how are the Grizzlies doing it?

The answer starts and ends with one thing: defense. Throughout Memphis’ first 19 games, they had the worst defensive rating in basketball at 115.9, nearly 4 points worse than the next worst team (Orlando). However, their defensive rating has not only just gone up, it’s absolutely skyrocketed to number 1 in the league over this last 8 game stretch at 96.7, and likewise, Memphis’ net rating is at 17.4 over this span, 2nd in the league only to Utah’s 18.7 net rating. 

Memphis is also crushing the boards, posting the highest rebounding average per game in the league over this span, and they’ve been defending at an elite level, allowing the 2nd fewest PPG in the paint (only Milwaukee has been better) as well as being the number 1 team in opponent EFG%. 

Memphis has been getting contributions from all over the place too, it’s not just one guy stepping up. Jaren Jackson Jr is finally starting to fulfill what we thought he could’ve become after his rookie season, averaging 21 PPG and 2 BPG on 41% from 3 over this span. Desmond Bane (another MIP candidate) has averaged 19 PPG on 46-46-92 splits, Dillon Brooks has chipped in 17 PPG, and 3 more players are averaging double digits in scoring. What may be the most amazing stat however is that 9 players on the roster are averaging at least 1 SPG throughout this span of games, which shows you that the defensive intensity has been infectious, and they’re really buying into their craft. 

I’m curious for all the Memphis fans out there: is this at all indicative of Ja’s defensive ability, or lack thereof? I’m not attempting to suggest anything, but when his team’s defensive rating suddenly jumps by nearly 20 points the moment he’s out of the lineup, it’s a little eyebrow raising, even if the sample size is as small as it is. 

Also I’d like to include a quick disclaimer: Some of these stats may be beefed up a bit by Memphis’ record breaking slaughter of OKC a few days ago, just keep that in mind when reading this.