NBA Matchups: March 4

 

Memphis Grizzlies at Brooklyn Nets (front end)

Team Totals: Grizzlies 99.3, Nets 108.8

Injury Report: Basically everyone on Memphis, Ben Simmons (Q, leg), Cam Thomas (O, ankle)

Grizzlies projected starters: Jordan Goodwin, Luke Kennard, Vince Williams, Santi Aldama, Lamar Stevens

Nets projected starters: Dennis Schroder, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nic Claxton

Jenkins quotes: Said Simons just got going in the fourth and they didn’t make shots, said he liked the fight from his guys but they haven’t played together much.

Ollie quotes: Said they want to be a “next-play team”, said DSJ got their defense going, said his guys were just hunting out there (he loves hunting!), said they are sharing the basketball more, said they were trying to take away C&S 3-pointers, said Claxton was “a monster” against the Hawks on Saturday.

Stats and Notes: 

*Memphis might be on one of the worst offensive stretches I have ever seen. In their last five games, they have managed a 79.1 O rating in the halfcourt and 98.1 overall. They averaged an unfathomable 74.5 halfcourt points per game in the last two. They have actually been making their C&S shots recently; they’re just not getting enough of them. It’s gross. The Nets have actually defended very well in four of their last five games, and they clamped the Grizzlies to just 86 points back on Feb. 26. The BKN offense has also come to life in their last two games, but that’s likely because they played the Hawks in those two. The Grizzlies are still decent on defense, but it’ll depend on who is available.

*The Grizzlies will have to trust Vince Williams Jr. here. He and Jordan Goodwin basically split the lead handling role, but neither are really driving it much. The Nets are more vulnerable to perimeter scorers, but Vince may not possess enough upside even with the offense shifting to him more. This offense is just that bad.

*Santi Aldama and GG Jackson could be in play just because of usage coming their way. We’ll see if the Grizzlies decide to keep the game count down on Trey Jemison and Jordan Goodwin.

*Coach Ollie kept his word to get Mikal Bridges going with a 38-point game on Saturday, but he has owned the Hawks there. Mikal got there with some transition scoring, and his halfcourt role is surprisingly light considering Cam Thomas is out. He’s going to have Vince Williams on him in a tougher matchup, but this Memphis team likely won’t be able to slow him down.

*Dennis Schroder has picked up a decent on-ball role, as he leads the team in touch time over the last three while also ranking first on the team in drives at 13.7. His matchup isn’t the easiest against Jordan Goodwin, and his upside will be a little tied to Ben Simmons.

*Nic Claxton should be in a smash spot. Kevin Ollie loves him and has been talking him up, and no Ben means he could get some heavier minutes. It’s pretty straightforward that Clax is in a big spot.

*Cam Johnson is as hot as he’s been this season with 26.0 points per game over his last two outings. The matchup is very good with the Grizzlies possibly having to put Luke Kennard on him, and Memphis does give up 3-point shooting. He has more ceiling than usual, and like everyone else, no Ben would add to his minutes ceiling. It’s fair to say he’s been the biggest winner from the Cam Thomas injury.

 

Great matchups: Nic Claxton, Cam Johnson

Good matchups: Mikal Bridges, Vince Williams Jr.

Bad matchups: Santi Aldama

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L.A. Clippers (back end) at Milwaukee Bucks