The Memphis Grizzlies will have their third game in four days when they host the Orlando Magic for their home opener on Saturday night.vThe Magic are also playing for the third time in four days.
Memphis began the season on Wednesday in Salt Lake City, where they won a close game against the Utah Jazz by two points. They then played on the road again on Friday but lost 128-108 to the Houston Rockets.
In the first two games, the Grizzlies were missing four important players, including veteran Jaren Jackson Jr. He is expected to play against the Magic after recovering from a left hamstring injury he got during the team’s first preseason practice.
Ja Morant, who missed most of the 2023-24 season, is having a strong start this year. The two-time NBA All-Star played only nine games last season due to a mix of a suspension and an injury, but he scored 22 points against the Jazz and 24 points against the Rockets in the first two games of this season.
The Grizzlies led 65-59 at halftime against Houston, but they couldn’t keep it going. They were outscored 39-18 in the third quarter and couldn’t bounce back. They also struggled with rebounding, getting out-rebounded 64-43.
“Our inability to rebound definitely hurt our ability to get out and get to that pace we played with in that first half,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “(Houston’s) physicality hurt us. We couldn’t get a rebound.”
The Magic had a strong performance in their season opener on Wednesday against Miami and again on Friday with a 116-101 win over Brooklyn. Orlando led by as much as 32 points in the second half of their 116-97 victory over the Heat. Paolo Banchero scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in that convincing win.
In the game against Brooklyn, Franz Wagner scored 29 points, helping to balance out Banchero’s 4-for-13 shooting performance.
Orlando is looking for steady contributions from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who they acquired in the offseason. He missed all five of his field-goal attempts (all 3-pointers) at Miami and only had one rebound in 25 minutes. He scored 10 points in 26 minutes against Brooklyn.
The Magic seem to be focusing on 3-pointers early in the season. They attempted 27 shots from long range in the opener, which is more than usual for a team that ranked last in the league for 3-pointers in 2023-24.
Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley mentioned that there’s a strategy behind increasing their 3-point attempts.
“It’s always going to come down to the process for us,” he said. “We’ve always been a very attacking team. We can find matchups at different places on the floor. It’s about our decision-making.
“So with the guys making the right decision, it tends to fall into guys standing on the perimeter with their feet set (and) open. It’s about our process of getting downhill, attacking early, and playing before the defense gets set. And if you find those 3s, you’ve got to let it fly.”
