Memphis comes home for the opener at 5-0 and seeded first, after five road wins. The numbers behind that record are loud, and some of them are louder than they will stay.
Is a plus-11.9 net rating real or a road-trip mirage?
It is real for what it covers. Memphis scores 116.8 and gives up 104.9 per possession scale, and that defensive number is the one a Grit and Grind town should care about. What it can't tell you yet: every game came away from FedExForum, and one of those wins came against a Kings team sitting at 0-5 with a minus-15.7 margin.
How much of this offense is Ty Jerome?
A lot. Jerome is putting up 25.8 points a night, dropped 31 in Sacramento, and Hoops Rumors noted he was named a Player of the Week. That earns respect. It does not settle whether a 29-year-old can carry that load for 77 more games, and he carries a back listing into tonight with an estimated return date of today, the same as Scotty Pippen Jr.
Is Cameron Boozer already the engine at 19?
He fills the sheet like one: 15.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 32.1 minutes, plus an 18-12-12 triple-double in Portland. The Athletic noted he is the second-youngest player to post one. The 34.4 percent from deep is the honest counterweight. The box score says he can run things. It doesn't say defenses have figured him out yet.
Can Cedric Coward keep shooting 68.8 percent from three?
No one does, so take it as a hot hand. Coward is averaging 14.3 points and 9.0 rebounds across four games, and Cam Spencer is at 58.8 from deep off the bench. That shooting has helped stretch a lead. When it cools, the defense and the glass have to hold up on their own, and that part has looked sturdy.
What do the standings and the books say?
Memphis is 3.5 games clear of 11th with 77 to play, and the current pace projecting to 82-0 is a joke nobody here repeats with a straight face. The payroll sits at $161.1M, under the cap and well below the $200.4M tax line. The homestand runs Kings, Pelicans, Pacers, then the Thunder in a Cup game.
What is the Grizzlies' net rating this season?
Memphis is plus-11.9, scoring 116.8 and allowing 104.9 across a 5-0 start played entirely on the road.
Is Ty Jerome playing against the Kings?
Jerome is listed with a back issue and his estimated return date is October 31, the day of the Kings game. Scotty Pippen Jr. has the same listing.
