Last week: Beat Miami 118-111, lost at Oklahoma City 126-122, lost at Cleveland 114-107, beat Sacramento 119-115
This week: Monday vs. San Antonio, Thursday at Oklahoma City, Saturday at Denver
The Memphis Grizzlies patched together a 2-2 week on the strength of homecourt wins over the Heat and Kings and probably should have had a win at Oklahoma City, blowing a 24-point lead in their loss on Wednesday. Memphis is young, reflected in their free throw statistics, where they take 17.0 per game and surrender 23.6 — both 28th in the NBA, per Cleaning the Glass.
Rookie Brandon Clarke excelled in that loss at Oklahoma City, erupting for a career-high 27 points and getting seven offensive rebounds in 25 minutes. For the week, Clarke put up 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.7 minutes a game, shooting 62.5 percent overall and going 0-for-4 from deep.
Last week: Won at Golden State 100-79, lost at Charlotte 110-102, lost at Indiana 119-105, lost at Memphis 119-115
This week: Monday vs. Houston, Thursday vs. Minnesota, Saturday vs. Phoenix
The Sacramento Kings started their four-game road trip last week with a flourish, winning in a rout at Golden State, but then dropped the next three games. Sacramento gets to the line less than any team in the NBA, per Cleaning the Glass, attempting only 16 foul shots a game. Couple that with a 15.6 percent turnover rate, 23rd in the league, and possessions get lost in bunches.
Even though second-year man Marvin Bagley III is back from his broken thumb sustained on opening night, Richaun Holmes continues to get the starting assignment at center for the Kings. Last week, he averaged 14.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals in 25.2 minutes per game, converting 65.8 percent of his shots. He had 20 points in the loss at Indiana.