MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — All week long, the Memphis Grizzlies expressed their excitement about finally getting a chance to play an opponent. Additionally, they said playing these four exhibition games will allow them to find out what they need to work on, ahead of opening night, on December 23 against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Grizzlies did just that in their 107-105 victory against the Timberwolves.
Ja’Morant is in mid-season form in the first exhibition game
Ja’Morant led the way by leading all scorers with 20 points, shooting 8-12 from the field, and connecting 2 of his 3, three-point attempts. Additionally, Morant was perfect from the free-throw line.
Not only was Morant able to get himself going offensively, but he was also able to get his teammates going as well. Morant had a total of 11 assists.
Head coach Taylor Jenkins said it was great for Morant to come out and have a great first game of the preseason, after all of the hard work he’s put in during the offseason.
“He’s really worked a lot on his body,” Jenkins said. “He’s worked on a lot of different parts of his game. I’ve talked about I wanted him to get better in every area of his game. I think that showed tonight. He still got a lot more to work on this season, and he’s hungry for that.”
Desmond Bane shows he belongs in the NBA
Not only did the reigning Rookie of the Year, show his dominance against the T’Wolves on Saturday evening, so did Grizzlies’ rookie Desmond Bane out of TCU. Bane contributed 12 points off the bench in 22 minutes, shooting 5-8 from the field.
Bane said he is happy he and his teammates were able to get a victory on the road in the Twin Cities.
“Win, I feel like I won some games at TCU and we came out of the preseason game with a win,” Bane said. “It was big for our team, and it was big for me. All the guys have been great at helping me settle in and become comfortable, and it shows. Once I got out there, playing basketball and competing, it’s a lot of fun for sure.”
Bane’s play also caught the attention of his coach. Jenkins said both Bane and fellow rookie Xavier Tillman competed and played with a lot of energy, something he was proud of.
“I really love how Des came out aggressive and found the right times to score,” Jenkins said. “(He) got downhill a couple of times. He’s a guy that is going to be a dynamic playmaker. (He) also (was) being unselfish and sharing the ball too,” Jenkins said.
Things the Grizzlies could work on
As mentioned, this preseason is important because of how quickly teams across the league had to prepare for the regular season in an abbreviated training camp. At the same time, these exhibition games are there for teams to see what they can improve on.
For the Grizzlies, their three-point shooting was not there in the first preseason game against the T’Wolves. Memphis shot 11-40 from behind the arc, 27.5 percent. Additionally, the team had a total of 14 turnovers.
Jenkins said the team can definitely build off of this game and improve before their next match-up against Minnesota on Monday night.
“I thought we got exposed a little bit with our one-on-one defense,” Jenkins said. “I thought the Timberwolves did a good job really trying to get downhill, transition, half-court situations. We are trying to work on being better one-on-one defensively. (So, we’ll) have some stuff to clean up for tomorrow.”
Jenkins said overall he was pleased with his team’s performance, especially the way they shared the ball. The Grizzlies had a total of 30 assists.
Memphis and Minnesota will play again on Monday at 7 p.m.