The Memphis Grizzlies are on fire offensively, which sets up a strong matchup for them on Friday when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans, who are struggling defensively.
In their last five wins, the Grizzlies have averaged 140.4 points per game. This includes an NBA season-high and franchise-record 155 points in their dominant win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.
“We’re just moving the ball,” said rookie forward Jaylen Wells, who scored 17 points. “A lot of guys had a lot of assists. We’re playing fast, and we’re hitting a lot of threes.”
Nine players from Memphis recorded at least one assist, and the team shot 58 out of 109 from the field. Wells led the team with five 3-pointers on 10 attempts, and the Grizzlies finished 18 for 45 (40 percent) from beyond the arc.
Just a week earlier, Memphis set another franchise record by hitting 27 three-pointers in a 144-93 blowout of the Golden State Warriors, the largest victory margin of the season.
Though Memphis didn’t play its best defense against Toronto, they still managed to win by 21 points. Coach Taylor Jenkins acknowledged that allowing 70 points in one half wasn’t ideal but praised his team for responding in the second half.
Memphis’ offense leads the NBA with an average of 123.7 points per game, and they’ll likely look to build on that against a New Orleans team that has struggled defensively. The Pelicans have allowed an average of 120.9 points during their current eight-game losing streak.
In their most recent loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday, New Orleans never led and trailed by 17 points at the end of the first quarter in a 128-111 defeat. It was their 17th loss in the last 18 games.
Pelicans coach Willie Green, who often praises his team’s toughness despite injuries, was frustrated with their performance on Thursday.
“(It was) just a lack of competitiveness from our guys from start to finish,” Green said. “We were just soft tonight — period. There are times when you’re going to go against good teams and you may go down. But, like I told our team, we can’t step on our home court and have that lack of physicality.”
In two games against the Rockets in a week, New Orleans allowed a combined 261 points, including a 133-113 loss in Houston on December 19.
Forward Herbert Jones expressed concern over the team’s effort and sense of urgency.
“We’ve all got to be better in that aspect,” Jones said. “I don’t really care how much we lose by. I’m more concerned about how we lose, and we can’t lose like that. We’ve got to be better defensively. We’ve got to be more physical.”
