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Necessity is the mother of all invention, even on the basketball court. Getting around a notoriously unfriendly Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs was going to require a group effort from Ja Morant's injury-riddled Memphis Grizzlies when it came to chopping down the presumptive NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner. Taylor Jenkins has continually found a way to win though, going undefeated against the Spurs (3-0) this season. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zach Edey led the most recent charge in exposing how to work around Wembanyama's gargantuan wingspan in a 128-109 home win.
Well, Jenkins drew up the game plan that had Edey, Jackson, and GG Jackson Jr. operating as a wolfpack.
“Having (Wemby) think about where he is rotating from and who he is rotating off of,” explained Jenkins. “He was even on (Scotty Pippen Jr.) for a stretch there and that created some confusion when we were playing our stretch unit. It's data collection right now. It's been successful for us. You've got to throw different things out there from a defensive gameplan matchup standpoint.”
The Grizzlies aimed to have Wembanyama's head on a swivel, and for the most part, those enormous feet were stuck in the mud. Jaren Jackson Jr. (31 points), Zach Edey (16 points, 14 rebounds), and GG Jackson (27 points) were too much to handle for the second-year sensation.
Jenkins knew Memphis must swarm collectively to attack the Frenchman's eight-foot wingspan defensively. The Grizzlies also used heavy doses of their rarely used one-five (Morant-Edey) pick-and-roll to stay out of Wembanyama's swat radius.
“I mean, you've got to move (Wembanyama). He is one of the best defensive players in the game,” Jenkins stated. “His on/off numbers when he is on the floor, it's not just the blocked shots but the altering of your movement on the offensive side…,” Jenkins said. “(It's about) what we can drive offensively to really get him moving around and maybe not be as much of a presence because he still is (a defensive force) no matter who you put on the floor.”
The Grizzlies (34-16) will not have to wrangle with Victor Wembanyama again this season, barring an NBA Playoffs matchup. Memphis is battling for second with the Houston Rockets (32-17) but has a chance at catching the Oklahoma City Thunder (39-9). The Spurs (21-26) will likely only qualify through the NBA Play-In Tournament path to the seventh or eighth seed.
However things shake out this season, the Grizzlies have seemingly already solved one of the biggest Western Conference problems for years to come.
