Memphis Grizzlies: 3 takeaways from 2017-18 season opener

3. Grit-N-Grind lives on

The Grizzlies have talked a lot about moving towards a more modern style of play. They upped their 3-point attempts in 2016-17, and are hoping to increase their pace in the current year. This summer, they said goodbye to the two players that most clearly embodied the team’s former Grit-N-Grind style of play.

But in game one, when Memphis felt the pressure of real regular season basketball, it returned to its roots, slowing the pace, clamping down on defense, and relying on Mike Conley and Marc Gasol to generate points in the half-court.

The two teams pounded away at each other, committing a combined total of 60 fouls. It made for a classic, disjointed, ugly performance on both sides. The Grizzlies mustered decidedly meager shooting splits of .424/.310/.571. The Pelicans fared even worse, shooting .380/.280/.828. The end result was far from the kind of shift towards the more beautiful basketball aesthetic that Memphis is on the record as striving to achieve.

That being said, the Grizzlies still won, and a matchup with the Pelicans may not be the best barometer for future play. New Orleans’ two most important players are massive human beings. Theoretically, it behooves them to keep the tempo slow (I don’t know that I agree with the theory here, but that is a different story, for another day). Even if the Grizzlies wanted to speed up the game, the Pelicans represent one of the league’s more reluctant dance partners.