MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Time off in the NBA is rare, so when its offered it is often embraced. The Grizzlies are using a stretch of four days between games to rest and refocus before jumping back into games on Friday.
Memphis was eliminated from the Emirates NBA Cup tournament after going just 1-3 in group play. The elimination means the team got a few days to spend at home rather than in Las Vegas. Even despite the time off, some players still live in the gym.
"It’s almost like a mini all-star break before all-star break. You know, I think it’s gonna pay dividends especially with the way we’re playing and how fast we’re playing," said Desmond Bane.
"I think some guys were doing a little stuff on their own, but I think just being out of the facility, whether it’s a local gym or wherever you feel most comfortable going to and spending some time at the house with the fam. It was good to spend a little time away from basketball."
"I think we can get a lot of work done. We don’t practice a lot during the season. Just get some time off, rest from basketball a little bit, but also get meaningful work in. We won’t get this kind of time off again," Santi Aldama said.
The break does introduce the "rest vs. rust" scenario. The Grizzlies have won nine of their last 10 games and have climbed to second in the Western Conference, a place they haven't been since they finished in that spot at the end of the 2022-2023 regular season.
The team leads the league in points per game (122.1) and blocks (7.0 per game), they're third in rebounding (47.6 rpg), fourth in net rating (8.0). Their opponents shoot 33.2% from three (leads NBA) and 43.8% from the field (fourth), while the Grizzlies shoot 48.9% from the field and 35.4% from deep.
It is a level of play they want to maintain while taking advantage of the time to rest. Over the break the team will use two practices to lock in again before another long cluster of games begins between Friday and New Year's Day.
"(The rest is) important for sure, but we don’t want to lose that momentum that we’ve been playing with the last few weeks," said head coach, Taylor Jenkins. "Luckily, our guys came in with great focus and then we’re going to challenge them tomorrow to get back to that burst and intensity that we need."
Despite not playing in the tournament portion of the NBA Cup, the Grizzlies do get another shot at the Brooklyn Nets in one of two makeup games that also includes the LA Lakers.
The Nets are a team in the East that, despite their 10-14 record, have two wins over the Grizzlies. Its a rare third game in an interconference matchup, where the Grizzlies have getback in mind.
"We just got to beat them man," Aldama said. "They've wanted to win more than us those past two game. We just got to find a way to do it."
Tip-off Friday is 7 p.m. in FedExForum.