Grizzlies: What we learned from blowout win vs Suns
The Grizzlies ran away from the Phoenix Suns in a dominant 117-96 win Saturday night at FedExForum.
Memphis secured its first doubledigit lead at the 11:32 mark of the second quarter and kept it for the rest of the game.
The usual veterans stood out again — Marc Gasol scored 19 points and Mike Conley finished with 18 — but Saturday belonged to the Memphis bench.
Here’s what we learned in the Grizzlies’ victory:
Bench barrage
The Memphis bench combined for 57 points and 21 rebounds against the Suns.
“I think they were awesome,” Memphis coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of his bench. “... It’s great to have guys that come off the bench and complement each other. They did a great job defensively, but were also able to score the ball.”
It was primarily the early substitutions for Memphis who led the charge in the second quarter and ballooned the Grizzlies’ lead to 25 by halftime. Guards Wayne Selden (14 points) and MarShon Brooks (18 points) led the team in points off the bench.
“After they went out of the game the first unit was able to kind of pick back up what they started,” Conley said. “They were the ones who got us going tonight.”
Memphis outscored Phoenix 42-25 in the second quarter. The Suns entered Saturday’s game ranked last in the NBA in second-quarter scoring margin
(-9.8).
Rookie showcase
Top-five 2018 draft picks Jaren Jackson Jr. and DeAndre Ayton headlined what otherwise could have been an overlooked matchup between two of the NBA’s bottom-tier teams from a season ago.
Jackson picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, which forced the rookie to spend much of the second half on the bench. Jackson scored just six points in 15 minutes.
Ayton, the No.1 overall draft pick this June, made his first seven shots and finished with 24 points and eight rebounds.
The two players have a friendly relationship that formed in their high school days playing together at the McDonald’s All-American event in 2017.
“(Ayton) is a big dude, for real,” Jackson said. “He has a skill set that I think sometimes gets overlooked because he’s so tall.”
Historic debut
Grizzlies rookie Yuta Watanabe became the second Japanese-born player in NBA history when he made his debut late in the fourth quarter. He made two free throws. “That was my first appearance and my first bucket in the NBA, so I’m not going to forget this moment for the rest of my life,” Watanabe said.
Ivan Rabb gets some run
Second-year player Ivan Rabb made an appearance for the first time this season.
Rabb played in 36 games for the Grizzlies last season and averaged 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14.3 minutes.
Memphis needed Rabb Saturday. The Grizzlies’ frontcourt was already thin with forward JaMychal Green out with a broken jaw, and Jackson’s early foul trouble opened the door for Rabb to play some minutes.
“Whatever opportunities are there; (Rabb) will soak up those extra minutes,” Bickerstaff said. “He brings something to the table that we can use. He’s a naturally strong rebounder so anytime you put him on the floor he’ll rebound for you.”
The 6-foot-10 forward did not score, but grabbed four rebounds and had two assists.
“(Rabb) had a corner three at the end that we all wanted to see fall,” Conley said. “He plays hard and that’s all you can ask for in those short amounts of minutes.”
Home court advantage
Memphis is now 2-0 inside FedExForum, but more importantly, the Grizzlies have now put up their highest point totals of the season on their home floor.
Perhaps the competition has something to do with that statistic — the Suns and Hawks rank as two of the NBA’s worst defensive teams — but Memphis has shot above 50 percent in both home games.
Up next
Memphis remains home to take on the Washington Wizards (1-4) on Tuesday.