Desmond Bane on Grizzlies' penchant for pace; preseason notes on Rockets, Spurs

DALLAS — About 45 minutes after the Memphis Grizzlies’ 121-116 preseason win over the Dallas Mavericks, fifth-year guard Desmond Bane was holding court in the visitors’ locker room, still catching his breath long after the final buzzer sounded.

The absence of Luka Dončić in the game — and to a lesser degree, Kyrie Irving — was a brief postgame talking point. A few teammates were surprised at how differently Dallas played without its primary ballhandlers and were reminded of how disjointed the offense can look.

On a macro scale, however, Bane was more concerned about his team’s performance. Not necessarily about the outcome of the game — the preseason is about conditioning and precaution for veteran teams — but how Memphis navigated the evening.

Seeing the number of exhausted players, even for an exhibition game, wasn’t surprising with Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins’ new penchant for pace. In an attempt to climb back into the upper echelon of the Western Conference. Jenkins wants his team to run, and run often.

“We all felt it today,” Bane told The Athletic. “You’ll be able to notice that from day one, we’re going to be playing really, really fast.”

The Grizzlies are a prideful bunch. They’re the last to admit last season was a wash, even though their core — Bane, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. — missed 129 combined games. But the reality is, although Memphis’ 27-win season had a few bright spots, particularly developing Vince Williams Jr. and GG Jackson II (and eventually landing Zach Edey in June’s draft), their on-court product and identity were a mess. And the more their offensive makeup was examined, the clearer it became that the Grizzlies simply didn’t run enough.

“It’s going to be a matter of how we convert, whether it’s stops, rebounds, turnovers, even after made baskets,” Jenkins said. “Our ability to get the ball up the floor quicker — last year, we were trying to get into more of a positionless style of offense. We’re still going to lean into that, but there are things we’ve been tracking and practicing (with) the switch from defense to offense. Pace is a numerical thing, but it’s really a mentality thing.”

The mentality Jenkins is referring to starts with Bane and Morant. Particularly with Morant, given his elite athleticism and ability to punish opposing defenders in traffic, there’s a ton of responsibility on his shoulders to lead the pack. The former All-Star turned his ankle against Dallas but was a consistent thorn in the Mavericks’ side, driving and creating offense for others before the defense could get set up.

The three-guard lineup of Morant flanked by Bane and Marcus Smart played just 130 minutes during the 2023-24 season but registered a pace of 100.95, according to NBA.com. It takes some Simone Biles-level mental gymnastics to equate that to an entire NBA campaign, but that figure would rank in the top five last season. Not enough data to make a substantial claim, but enough evidence to warrant intrigue.

“He’s electric,” Bane said of Morant. “He can do so many different things on the court, and our games just fit. The work will speak for itself.”

Bane also serves an instrumental role, having shouldered the lion’s share of the offense last year and serving as a liaison of sorts between both versions of the Grizzlies: the banged-up, youthful team and the deep, veteran-laden group. Per Cleaning the Glass, Bane’s usage increased from 25.6 to 28.6 (92nd percentile), which came with a career-high 5.5 assists per game, and he was responsible for 27.2 percent of his teammates’ shots while on the floor.

But pace isn’t simply about running up and down the court; it’s also about decision-making and how quickly teams get into their offense in the half court. Since entering the league, Bane has gradually improved his playmaking proficiency, finishing in the 82nd percentile of pick-and-roll ballhandlers and scoring .989 points per possession. His low center of gravity and strength mesh well with Morant’s aggressive style and give Memphis a balanced backcourt.

“That’s gonna help to make me a more complete player, especially with the way we’re trying to play this year — a more free-flowing, spread the ball around,” Bane said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

It’s not a perfect process. There will be bumps in the road, as seen in Memphis’ 119-94 blowout loss to Charlotte on Thursday. Over two games, the Grizzlies have 58 assists to 45 turnovers and are in the bottom third in assist-to-turnover ratio. But Bane is focused on the long-term goal.

“Just trying to stick to the way we’re trying to play,” Bane said. “Eventually work our way into the shape that we have to be in. We’re practicing hard, playing hard. It’s going to come along.”

The bulk of the Houston Rockets’ focus during the offseason, training camp and the start of preseason has been about improving their defensive efficiency — but that’s not the entire scope of their work. For the organization to go from exciting young team to respected playoff participant, offensive tweaks must be made as well.

Head coach Ime Udoka has made it clear that floor spacing and shooting are premiums. Reed Sheppard, the No. 3 pick in the draft, was the best shooter in college and will play a sizable role in the rotation. But that alone isn’t enough to solve the Rockets’ shooting issues that plagued them far too many times last season. Houston was 12th in attempted 3s per game but ranked just 23rd in conversion of such shots.

So how do you close the gap? Udoka has mentioned running a simplified offense for his young players on a few occasions and also noted the need to diversify. The eye test, when watching the Rockets, will show that they run a large amount of high pick-and-rolls, allowing their ballhandlers to make decisions off that. The numbers also confirm that theory. According to Synergy tracking data, Houston ran the fourth-most high pick-and-rolls in the NBA last season (18.9) and also was the fourth-most efficient scoring off of that action (1.057 points per possession).

Uncovering the next layer of Houston’s offense outside of that has been a challenge, but Udoka has a few ideas, and most of them are centered around fourth-year starting center Alperen Şengün. Udoka has challenged the Turkish big to become more comfortable shooting 3s, understanding the benefit his spacing can have on the Rockets’ half-court scheme. Last season, Şengün took just 1.8 3s per game, converting 29.7 percent of them.

During the 2021-22 season with the Celtics, Udoka had Al Horford, a versatile, two-way big with floor-spacing capabilities. The veteran big had the benefit of All-NBA players like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to command the lion’s share of touches and shots, but he still had areas within Udoka’s scheme to open up the floor for others (3.8 3s per game, 33.6 percent). Below is one of Udoka’s go-tos, a double drag for Tatum that actually morphs into a shot for Horford. (Pay attention to Tatum being utilized as the screener; that’s another important Udoka theme.)

Against the Jazz, the defense thinks this is an action for Aaron Holiday coming off a double drag. But similar to the play above, the “target” is actually opening up the floor for Şengün.

Şengün is 1-of-4 from 3 so far during the preseason, but the process is more important than the outcome right now. With time, he’ll get more and more comfortable taking — and making — these types of shots.

Because of attention to detail. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich understands that developing Wembanyama is the paramount goal in San Antonio, but to make others around him better as well, on-court teaching is a necessity. Barnes has made a career out of being a low-maintenance, glue-guy type of combo forward. His understanding of schematics, in addition to his experience and basketball IQ, lend well to a group still learning how to win.

“The message that’s going to be preached a lot this season is going to be sustaining,” Barnes said on media day. “Can we sustain our focus? Can we sustain the level of detail necessary, not only in the second quarter but the third and fourth? That’s going to be a big thing for us.”

From a defensive standpoint, Barnes isn’t the aggressive, physical force he used to be. At 32, he can’t effectively chase guards and wings around the perimeter anymore. Per Synergy, Barnes finished in just the 23rd and 27th percentile defending in pick-and-roll ballhandler and isolation scenarios, respectively — and the Sacramento Kings were three points worse defensively in his minutes. He’s gotten better defending against power forwards and centers as his game has aged (69th percentile guarding post-ups, 83rd guarding roll men.)

Offensively, however, Barnes is still a valuable asset to the equation.

Once the regular season rolls around, Paul and Wembanyama will command most of the usage (along with Sochan), but there’s still a need for a connective-tissue player with size. Barnes has always been an underrated playmaker and has a good understanding of angles, spacing and personnel. The possession below highlights Barnes’ basketball processor, recognizing the ability to beat Chet Holmgren off the give-and-go, draw pressure at the rim and kick out to an open Champagnie (shooting lights out in the preseason so far, 9-of-19 from 3).

Outside of the starters, Tre Jones (4.12 assist-to-turnover ratio), Johnson (1.95), Blake Wesley (3.02!) and Castle should provide San Antonio with enough playmaking against second units. Popovich now has enough bodies to stagger lineups and find optimal in-game combinations that weren’t readily available last season.

(Top photo of Desmond Bane: Harry How / Getty Images)