The Grizzlies begin a four-game swing through the West tonight as they face the Sacramento Kings with a chance to push their season record above .500. Memphis enters the game boasting one of the league's top scoring defenses, allowing only 85.3 points per game through four contests. That is a great improvement over Grizzlies teams of the past, who routinely struggled to hold opponents under 100 points. This year's average is down from 106.9 just a year ago. Even after only a few games, it is easy to see that this team is devoted to playing aggressive defense. While the turnover numbers won't show it, the Grizzlies have shown a knack for attacking the ball and creating difficult shots for their opponents. The result has been an opponents' shooting percentage of 37.5.
The Kings come into tonight's game, which tips off at 9 p.m. CST, still searching for their first win of the season at 0-4. However, they are 24-1 all-time against the Grizzlies at home, and this is their first opportunity to play in front of their home fans this season. They are coming off a 125-91 thumping at the hands of the Philadelphia Sixers on Monday. The Kings were led by Jason Thompson's 17 points, while Spencer Hawes added 15.
This road trip will be a true test for Memphis, which will continue on to Golden State on Friday and Denver on Sunday. Although they proved that they can compete well in earlier road games against Chicago and Houston, they came away empty-handed both times. The key to victory for the Grizzlies will be maintaining a high level of play for four quarters. They can't afford to have extended shooting droughts or defensive lapses. As long as they can force the tempo and create easy scoring chances, they should find themselves with another 'W' at the end of the night. This week will provide this particular squad with a measure of exactly where they are as far as chemistry and mental toughness are concerned. A split is a real possibility if they play hard every night. Rudy Gay will have to play like he did late in the game against Golden State. Everyone will have to contribute, and they cannot afford to dig themselves an early hole. They were able to overcome a sluggish first couple of minutes on Monday, but that was when they had the crowd behind them.
Keywords: Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings
