Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Hoops Rumors Originals

Two-Way Players Making Bids For Promotions

November 26th, 2018 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

Players on two-way contracts are free to appear in NBA games, but there are limitations on the amount of time they can spend with their respective NBA teams. Each two-way player can spend up to 45 days with his NBA club, assuming he signed his two-way deal before the season began.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Two-Way Contracts]

With some creative transferring back and forth between an NBA team and its G League affiliate, a franchise can make the most of those 45 days. Still, with the clock having started on October 22, the first day of G League training camp, we could see some two-way players reach that 45-day mark as early as December.

Teams can sign players to two-way contracts through mid-January, so during the 2017/18 season, some clubs simply moved onto a new player once their original two-way players neared that 45-day limit. However, many players who used up their 45 days subsequently received a promotion – signing a standard NBA contract and taking a spot on the 15-man roster – to ensure that their NBA teams didn’t lose them.

It’s a little early in the 2018/19 season to determine which two-way players will ultimately end up being promoted to 15-man rosters, but a handful of players on two-way deals have made strong cases for standard contracts in the early going.

Here are the top candidates to receive promotions among this year’s two-way players:

  • Gary Clark (Rockets): Clark went undrafted in June, but has shown so far this season why he was one of the first rookie free agents to reach a deal with an NBA team once the draft ended. While his offensive numbers (3.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, .333/.293/1.000 shooting) aren’t great, Clark has been very good defensively, and the Rockets have been a better team when he plays — their net rating is +2.9 when he’s on the court and -2.2 when he isn’t. Clark’s early-season play has helped make Carmelo Anthony expendable, and once Houston officially parts ways with Anthony, the rookie forward looks like the odds-on favorite to take his roster spot.
  • Allonzo Trier (Knicks): Another undrafted free agent, Trier has been one of the early brights spots for the lottery-bound Knicks. Appearing in all 21 of the team’s games, the former Arizona shooting guard has scored 11.4 PPG in just 23.7 minutes per contest, posting an ultra-efficient shooting line of .491/.459/.826. It seems like a given that he’ll sign a standard contract with New York at some point — it’s just a matter of how the club will create room for him. If they haven’t been able to trade veterans like Enes Kanter or Courtney Lee to open up a roster spot, the Knicks could consider cutting Ron Baker or Luke Kornet, neither of whom has any guaranteed money due beyond this season.
  • Troy Williams (Kings): Williams’ playing time in 10 games for the Kings has been somewhat sporadic, but he’s made the most of his limited minutes, shooting 50.0% from the field and 40.0% from beyond the arc while using his athleticism to make a handful of highlight-reel plays. Williams may not be as strong a bet for a 15-man roster spot as Clark or Trier, but Sacramento has a number of veterans – Zach Randolph, Kosta Koufos, and Ben McLemore – who seem likely to be traded or bought out by the end of the season. Williams would be one of the candidates to replace them on the roster.

Here are a few more two-way players to keep an eye on:

  • Alex Poythress (Hawks): Poythress gave the Hawks some solid minutes earlier in the season. With John Collins healthy again, Poythress’ minutes figure to be limited going forward.
  • Andrew Harrison (Cavaliers): Harrison is getting regular minutes for the rebuilding Cavaliers, but hasn’t made the most of them so far, shooting 33.3% from the floor and 25.0% on threes.
  • Damion Lee (Warriors): Lee has played at least 16 minutes in each of the Warriors‘ last five games. That streak figures to come to an abrupt end when the team gets healthier and Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Alfonzo McKinnie are back. Lee’s making a case for a longer look though, knocking down 47.6% of his three-pointers.
  • Johnathan Williams (Lakers): Williams briefly looked like a revelation for the Lakers earlier in the season, but hasn’t played since the team signed Tyson Chandler.

The full list of players on two-way contracts can be found right here.

Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Poll: Will The Heat Make The Playoffs?

November 25th, 2018 at 9:33pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

Several teams have gotten off to slow starts across the league, most notably the Rockets, Jazz, Celtics and Wizards. The Heat are another team that has been somewhat overlooked in that conversation, as they are off to a 7-12 start. Perhaps many overlook the Heat because they are used to slow starts from them (who could forget the 11-30 first half two seasons ago?). Maybe it’s the fact that the Heat are in the Eastern Conference, which should keep them in the playoff picture throughout the entire season.

Regardless, the Heat are struggling as a result of a poor offense, inconsistent play and injuries. Goran Dragic, James Johnson, Dion Waiters, Dwyane Wade, Justise Winslow and Wayne Ellington have all missed several games. As a result, the Heat have had to mix and match lineups and rotations throughout the season, which certainly hasn’t helped their offense.

The Heat currently own the 26th-ranked offense, which is holding back a team that provides effort and defense on a nightly basis (they currently have the 11th-best defense).

As the Heat continue to get healthy and get their ideal rotation on the court, one would expect them to step things up and squeeze into the playoffs. However, with the Hornets and Pistons playing relatively well and looking like potential playoff teams, the Heat may have to battle the Wizards for that final playoff spot (assuming the Magic fall back down to earth).

What do you think? Do you think that this slow start for the Heat is just a result of injuries? Or is this a sign of things to come this season? Vote in the poll below and share your thoughts in the comments section!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote. 

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Poll: Will The Jazz Make The Playoffs?

November 24th, 2018 at 9:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the last two days, we’ve gauged your thoughts on two surprise Western playoff contenders, asking if you expect the Grizzlies and the Clippers to make the playoffs. In each case, about two-thirds of the respondents in our poll voted yes. But if the Grizzlies and Clippers are pushing their way into the postseason conversation, that means at least one or two teams we expected to be in the playoffs may end up being pushed out.

One potential candidate to finish outside the top eight in the Western Conference is Utah. The Jazz entered the season with high expectations — they finished the 2017/18 regular season on a 29-6 run, then dispatched the Thunder in the first round before falling to Houston. Entering the 2018/19 campaign, many experts and fans viewed Utah as a probable top-four team in the West.

So far though, the Jazz have played more like the team that started last season 19-28, rather than the team that won 29 of its last 35 games. With Donovan Mitchell banged up and struggling to score efficiently, the Jazz have had problems getting the ball in the net as a team, ranking 26th in offensive rating. At a time when many NBA clubs are looking to score as many of their points as possible from outside the three-point line and at the foul line, Utah ranks 27th in 3PT% and 26th in FT%.

Even the Utah defense, which was considered one of the NBA’s best entering the season, has underperformed, ranking 14th in defensive rating so far, despite anchor Rudy Gobert not missing a game.

The season hasn’t been a total disaster for the Jazz. They’ve had good road wins in Houston, New Orleans, Memphis, and Sacramento, and they’ve beaten Boston twice. But they’ve also had their fair share of duds, including a 50-point loss in Dallas and a 27-point defeat in Indiana. In total, Utah is 8-11, which puts the team in a tie for the second-worst record in a competitive Western Conference.

The Jazz still have a ton of time to turn things around, and it would be surprising if they don’t go on a run at some point. Still, it won’t be easy to earn a top-eight spot in the West. Utah would have to leapfrog the Mavericks, Spurs, Pelicans, Rockets, and the surprising Kings just to get to No. 8. As the season nears the one-quarter mark, it’s worth questioning if we overrated the Jazz at all based on their red-hot finish to the 2017/18 season.

What do you think? Do you still consider the Jazz a strong bet to make the postseason, or do you believe they’ll end up on the outside looking in? Vote in our poll, then head down to the comment section to share your two cents.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Draft Rights Held For 2018/19

November 24th, 2018 at 6:52pm CST by Luke Adams

When top college prospects like Deandre Ayton or Marvin Bagley III are drafted, it’s a given that their next step will involve signing an NBA contract. However, that’s not the case for every player who is selected in the NBA draft, especially international prospects and second-round picks.

When an NBA team uses a draft pick on a player, it gains his NBA rights, but that doesn’t mean the player will sign an NBA contract right away. International prospects will often remain with their professional team overseas for at least one more year to develop their game further, becoming “draft-and-stash” prospects. Dario Saric, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Tomas Satoransky are among the more notable players to fit this bill in recent years.

However, draft-and-stash players can be former NCAA standouts too. Sometimes a college prospect selected with a late second round pick will end up playing overseas or in the G League for a year or two if there’s no space available on his NBA team’s 15-man roster.

While these players sometimes make their way to their NBA teams, others never do. Many clubs currently hold the NBA rights to international players who have remained overseas for their entire professional careers and are no longer viewed as top prospects. Those players may never come stateside, but there’s often no reason for NBA teams to renounce their rights — those rights can sometimes be used as placeholders in trades.

For instance, during the 2018 offseason, the Mavericks and Rockets agreed to a trade that sent Chinanu Onuaku, cash, and future draft-pick swap rights to Dallas. For Houston, the deal was just about getting off Onuaku’s guaranteed salary and the tax penalty that would have come along with it, but the Mavericks had to send something to the Rockets in the deal. Rather than including an NBA player or a draft pick, Dallas sent Houston the draft rights to Maarty Leunen, the 54th pick in the 2008 NBA draft.

Leunen is currently playing for Fortitudo Bologna in Italy, and at this point appears unlikely to ever come to the NBA, but his draft rights have been a useful trade chip over the years — the Rockets/Mavericks swap represented the third time that Preldzic’s NBA rights have been included in a trade since he was drafted.

Listed below are all the players whose NBA draft rights are currently held by NBA teams. These players may eventually arrive in America and join their respective NBA clubs, but many will end up like Leunen, plying their trade overseas and having their draft rights used as pawns in NBA trades.

Atlanta Hawks

  • Augusto Binelli, C (1986; No. 40): Retired.
  • Alain Digbeu, F (1997; No. 49): Retired.
  • Marcus Eriksson, G/F (2015; No. 50): Playing in Spain.
  • Alpha Kaba, C (2017; No. 60): Playing in France.

Boston Celtics

  • None

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

Chicago Bulls

Read more

Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

Hoops Rumors Originals: 11/17/18 – 11/24/18

November 24th, 2018 at 2:07pm CST by clarkcrum

Every week, our writing team here at Hoops Rumors creates original content to complement our news feed. Below are the original segments and features from the past seven days:

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Free Agent Stock Watch 2019: Northwest Division

November 23rd, 2018 at 8:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we turn our attention to the Northwest Division:

Isaiah Thomas, Nuggets, 29, PG (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal in 2018
Thomas hoped to revive his career as a high-scoring sixth man for one of the league’s up-and-coming teams. Instead, Thomas has yet to make his Denver debut. Thomas continues to struggle with hip issues and there’s no timetable for his return. Just a couple of years removed from being a candidate for the league’s Most Valuable Player award, Thomas has a cloudy future. It’s more likely he’ll be forced into early retirement than ever approaching his former level of excellence and that would be a shame.

Derrick Rose, Timberwolves, 30, PG (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2.39MM deal in 2018
Seriously, did anyone think Rose would have another 25-point outing in his career, let alone twice as many points? Rose’s 50-point explosion against Utah on Halloween was a shocker and he’s remained a steady offensive threat since that blast from the past. He’s averaging 22.0 PPG and 4.0 APG over his last eight games. Once thought to be on the verge of retirement, Rose clearly still has a lot left in the tank. He’ll be getting a substantial raise in the open market if he keeps this up.

Abdel Nader, Thunder, 25, SF (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $4.16MM deal in 2017
The Celtics were about to cut Nader loose this summer until the Thunder came calling with a trade offer. The 2016 second-round pick has a non-guaranteed contract and he hasn’t done anything to convince Oklahoma City to keep him around after this season. Nader hasn’t been able to break into the wing rotation, playing a total of just 15 minutes. Nader will probably be looking for another fresh start in July.

Seth Curry, Trail Blazers, 28, PG (Down) — Signed to a one-year, $2.795MM deal in 2018
Curry left Dallas with the hope of reestablishing his value after missing all of last season with stress fracture in his lower left leg. It hasn’t started off the way Curry envisioned. He wasn’t effective in a backup role (6.09 PER) before missing the last four games with a knee injury. There’s still hope for Curry to turn things around and fill the role that Shabazz Napier played last season. The way it’s going now, he’ll be scrounging for another one-year deal next summer.

Ricky Rubio, Jazz, 28, PG (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $55MM deal in 2015
The Jazz have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams during the first quarter of the season. The team’s starting point guard is partly to blame. Rubio, who is making nearly $15MM in his walk year, is shooting 37.3% from the field and over the last six games he’s averaging four assists while making 2.5 turnovers per game. Rubio needed to adjust his game when the team drafted dynamic creator Donovan Mitchell and right now, their backcourt pairing still seems a bit awkward. It’ll interesting to see if the Jazz look to move Rubio before the trade deadline to shake things up.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Retweet 6 Share 0 Send via email0

Poll: Will The Clippers Make The Playoffs?

November 23rd, 2018 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

If the 2018/19 NBA season ended today, six of the eight postseason teams in the West would be clubs widely expected to finish in the top eight in the conference coming into the year — the Warriors, Rockets, Lakers, Nuggets, Thunder, and Trail Blazers. However, the other two teams in the playoff picture in the Western Conference are a little more surprising.

On Thursday, we asked for your thoughts on one those two teams – the Grizzlies – and today we’re shifting our focus to the other one: the Clippers.

With the regular season nearly at its one-quarter mark, the Clippers are currently tied with the Thunder at 11-6 for third in the West. Viewed as a borderline playoff contender entering the season, the Clips have had success so far despite not having a bona fide star on their roster.

Tobias Harris is the closest thing Los Angeles has to an All-Star, and he’s off to a great start in 2018/19, averaging 21.4 PPG and 8.7 RPG with a scorching-hot .519/.444/.810 shooting line. Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams have chipped in more than 18 points per game apiece, Montrezl Harrell (15.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.8 BPG) is enjoying a breakout year, and lottery pick Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having an immediate impact on both ends of the court.

While the Clippers’ playing style is epitomized by hard-nosed defenders like Patrick Beverley and Avery Bradley, the team also has a top-five offensive rating. The Clippers don’t shoot a ton of threes, ranking 28th in attempts, but they have the second-best three-point percentage in the NBA, and have a knack for getting to the foul line — they rank second in the league in both free throws made and free-throw percentage.

Staying healthy will be a concern for Gallinari, who hasn’t played more than 63 games in a season since 2012/13, but this Clippers roster is deep and could withstand the loss of a rotation player or two. The team also has the assets and flexibility necessary to make a trade or two in the coming months.

Still, with star-heavy clubs like the Pelicans, Spurs, and Jazz expected to push their way into the postseason conversation at some point, the Clippers will face a season-long challenge to hang onto a playoff spot.

What do you think? Will the Clippers exceed expectations and earn a place in the postseason, or will they eventually fall back and finish in the lottery? Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your thoughts.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Atlantic Division

November 23rd, 2018 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the course of the 2018/19 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.

Since we last examined the Atlantic division, two of the division’s backup point guards have made headlines — one is reportedly unhappy with his role, while another is said to prefer a change of scenery. Both players (or their camps) have publicly denied those reports, but that likely won’t quiet trade speculation.

Here’s our latest look at a few possible trade candidates from the Atlantic…

Terry Rozier, G
Boston Celtics
$3.05MM cap hit; restricted free agent in 2019

Rozier and the Celtics continue to say the right things publicly, but speculation persists that the fourth-year point guard is unhappy with his role in Boston, as a report suggested earlier this month.

Rozier, who played a huge role in the postseason for the Celtics last spring, has seen his minutes per game dip to 22.7 this season with Kyrie Irving healthy. If Boston were battling for first place in the conference, that decreased role might be easier to swallow, but the Celtics’ early-season struggles have likely only exacerbated any frustrations Rozier has.

Despite their 9-9 start, the Celtics still have title aspirations, so an in-season trade involving a key contributor like Rozier seems unlikely unless they can get immediate help in return. Still, this is a situation worth watching closely. With Rozier’s restricted free agency looming and no guarantee of a long-term investment from the Celtics, the trade deadline could represent Boston’s best chance to get something of value for the young guard.

Markelle Fultz, G
Philadelphia 76ers
$8.34MM cap hit; guaranteed $9.75MM salary in 2019/20; $12.29MM team option for 2020/21

Fultz’s agent Raymond Brothers denied a report suggesting that his client wants to be traded out of Philadelphia, but it wouldn’t exactly be shocking if the former No. 1 overall pick prefers a fresh start elsewhere. His first 17 months with the Sixers have been disastrous, and it’s not clear where he fits into a long-term core that will likely include Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, and Joel Embiid.

If you’re the Sixers, you don’t want to sell low on a player like Fultz, who is still just 20 years old and was an extremely highly regarded prospect just a year and a half ago. But the team applied that same thinking to Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, and ended up practically giving those players away for nothing in trades as their stocks dipped even further. If Fultz can get healthy, maybe now is the time to move him, when other teams still believe in his upside.

If Philadelphia does consider dealing Fultz, he’d give the team a mid-level salary-matching chip to shop in trade talks, which could be important. Currently, the only non-core pieces on the roster with cap hits exceeding $2.7MM are Wilson Chandler ($12.8MM), J.J. Redick ($12.25MM), and Mike Muscala ($5MM) — those three are important rotation players that the Sixers would presumably prefer to keep.

It’s also worth noting that clearing Fultz’s $9.75MM guarantee for 2019/20 from their books could put the Sixers in a prime position to go after another top free agent next summer, even after accounting for Butler’s cap hold.

DeMarre Carroll, F
Brooklyn Nets
$15.4MM cap hit; unrestricted free agent in 2019

During the summer of 2017, when the Raptors needed to cut costs to re-sign Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, the Nets received a pair of draft picks from Toronto and dumped Justin Hamilton‘s unwanted expiring contract as incentive for taking on Carroll. The veteran forward responded with a nice bounce-back season in 2017/18, averaging a career-best 13.5 PPG on .414/.371/.764 shooting.

Carroll’s solid showing last season rebuilt his trade value and even made him a positive asset heading into his contract year, but health problems – which marred his time in Toronto – have slowed him again this season. Limited to eight games so far due to an ankle injury, the 32-year-old has shot just .309/.286/.885.

Unless Carroll can rebound again in a big way, finding a trade partner may be tricky. The Nets would want an asset in return for the veteran, and wouldn’t want to compromise their projected cap space for 2019. That may be too much to ask, but if Carroll plays well leading up to the deadline and there’s a team out there in desperate need of a three-and-D wing, a deal is a possibility.

Previously:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

How New Lottery Odds Will Affect NBA’s Race To The Bottom

November 23rd, 2018 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2018/19 NBA season is the first league year that will use the Association’s new odds for the draft lottery. Up until 2018, the top three spots in the draft were determined by the lottery, with the NBA’s worst team receiving a 25% shot at the No. 1 pick and a 64.3% chance of a top-three pick.

That will no longer be the case in 2019, as the league has tweaked its lottery system to distribute the odds of a top pick a little more evenly throughout the NBA’s bottom 14 teams.

The top four spots in the draft will now be set by the lottery, which means the worst team could pick as low as No. 5. Additionally, that team now only has a 14% shot at the No. 1 overall selection, and a 40.1% chance at a top-three pick.

Here’s a full breakdown of how the lottery odds have changed. The new odds are indicated first, followed by the previous odds in parentheses.

Team No. 1 pick (%)
 Top-3 pick (%)
Team 1 14.0 (25.0) 40.1 (64.3)
Team 2 14.0 (19.9) 40.1 (55.8)
Team 3 14.0 (15.6) 40.1 (46.9)
Team 4 12.5 (11.9) 36.6 (37.8)
Team 5 10.5 (8.8) 31.6 (29.2)
Team 6 9.0 (6.3) 27.6 (21.5)
Team 7 7.5 (4.3) 23.4 (15.0)
Team 8 6.0 (2.8) 19.0 (10.0)
Team 9 4.5 (1.7) 14.5 (6.1)
Team 10 3.0 (1.1) 9.9 (4.0)
Team 11 2.0 (0.8) 6.6 (2.9)
Team 12 1.5 (0.7) 5.1 (2.5)
Team 13 1.0 (0.6) 3.3 (2.0)
Team 14 0.5 (0.5) 1.7 (1.8)

The new system doesn’t represent a total overhaul of the draft lottery, but the changes should still have a major impact on the lottery results going forward. The league’s three worst teams will all have equal odds at the No. 1 pick and a top-three pick, reducing the incentive to finish at the very bottom of the NBA standings.

The likelihood of a team in the 6-14 range jumping up to snag the top pick has been increased significantly as well. There’s now a 35% chance that one of those clubs will pick first overall — under the previous system, those odds were just 18.8%.

So what will the practical effects of these changes look like? Well, for one, we shouldn’t be quite as invested in the very bottom of the NBA standings. For instance, if the Suns, Cavaliers, and Hawks end up in a three-team race for the league’s worst record, it doesn’t really matter which team is the worst of the worst — they’d all end up with the exact same lottery odds.

Meanwhile, teams with picks in the middle of the lottery will have a better chance to make a leap in the draft order. For example, Sixers and Celtics fans may be discouraged by the Kings‘ hot start, since Sacramento’s pick will go to Philadelphia (if it’s No. 1) or Boston (if it’s No. 2 or lower). However, the revamped lottery odds could make that pick a little more interesting even if the Kings keep playing well.

Let’s say the Kings finish eighth in the lottery order. In past seasons, that pick would have had a 2.8% chance of landing at No. 1 and a 10% chance of jumping into the top three. This year, the odds of becoming the first overall selection would increase to 6%. It would also have a 19% chance of being a top-three pick, and a 26.2% of landing in the top four. It’s still a long shot to improve, but those odds aren’t nearly as long.

We’ll have to wait until later in the season to get a better sense of how the new lottery odds may impact situational tanking around the league. Whatever happens though, it looks like lottery night should be more interesting than ever going forward, with one extra top pick up for grabs and a shake-up in the draft order more likely than ever.

Retweet 5 Share 0 Send via email0

Poll: Will The Grizzlies Make The Playoffs?

November 22nd, 2018 at 9:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Expectations weren’t high for the Grizzlies coming into the 2018/19 season. Oddsmakers placed Memphis’ over/under at 34.5 wins, which would have put the team in a tie with Dallas for the 12th-best record in the Western Conference. And it’s not as if fans and experts widely viewed that projection as pessimistic. In fact, in our preseason over/under polls, more than 60% of our respondents for the Grizzlies picked them to finish under 34.5 wins.

A little over a month later, as the regular season nears the one-quarter mark, the Grizzlies aren’t just exceeding expectations — they are, improbably, the No. 1 team in the Western Conference. Of course, the top 10 teams in the West are separated by just 2.5 games, so it’s not as if Memphis is running away with the conference, but the team’s 12-5 mark is good for first place for now.

While it remains to be seen if the Grizzlies’ early-season success is sustainable, it’s not as if a bunch of guys on the roster are playing over their heads. Offseason additions Jaren Jackson Jr. and Shelvin Mack have been better than expected so far, and the fact that Mike Conley and Marc Gasol have stayed healthy is a big help. But the Grizzlies’ major free agent signee, Kyle Anderson, hasn’t made a huge impact, and their third highest-paid player, Chandler Parsons, has once again been sidelined by health problems.

Memphis’ management talked in the offseason about wanting to return to a grit-and-grind style of play, which seemed like an unusual approach to take in a league that has become increasingly fast-paced and offense-oriented. However, it’s a path that’s worked for the Grizzlies so far.

Despite playing at the slowest pace in the NBA and ranking 26th in three-point attempts, Memphis is winning because of its defense and its ability to take care of the ball on the offense — the club ranks fourth in the NBA in defensive rating, fifth in takeaways, and fourth in turnovers.

The Grizzlies couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season, but it comes with no guarantees. They still have 65 games left to play, and as we noted above, the top 10 teams in the West are separated by just 2.5 games. That group of 10 teams doesn’t even include the 8-9 Spurs or the 8-10 Jazz, who are out of the playoff picture at the moment, but figure to make a push at some point.

What are your expectations for Memphis this season? Will the Grizzlies’ hot start help propel them to a playoff berth at season’s end, or will they eventually drop off and finish outside the top eight in the Western Conference?

Vote below in our poll, then head to the comment section to weigh in.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts