Numbers preview: Jazz (1) vs. Grizzlies (8)

The Utah Jazz were, essentially, the best team in the league all season, with three different winning streaks of nine games or more, the league’s best point differential by a wide margin, and top-four rankings on both ends of the floor. But, as the Milwaukee Bucks will tell you, the playoffs are different.

The Jazz begin their postseason with a series against a team that survived two tough Play-In games, including one on the road. The Memphis Grizzlies have quickly risen from one of the worst teams in the league to one with both a bright future and a competitive present.

  • Series hub | Shaun Powell’s series preview

Here are some statistical notes to get you ready for the 1-8 series in the West, with links to let you dive in and explore more. Game 1 is Sunday at 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

Pace = Possessions per 48 minutes
OffRtg = Points scored per 100 possessions
DefRtg = Points allowed per 100 possessions
NetRtg = Point differential per 100 possessions

Utah Jazz (52-20)

Pace: 99.4 (16)
OffRtg: 116.4 (4)
DefRtg: 107.5 (3)
NetRtg: +9.0 (1)

Regular season: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups

vs. Memphis: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups

Jazz notes – General:

  1. Only team that ranked in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency this season and the 10th team in the 25 years for which we have play-by-play data to rank in the top four in both. Three of the previous nine – the 1996-97 Bulls, 2014-15 Warriors and 2016-17 Warriors – went on to win the championship, four lost in the conference finals, and two lost in the conference semis.
  2. Had the league’s second biggest differential between their “expected wins” (via point differential) and their actual wins. They were 52-20 with the point differential of a team that was 57-15.
  3. Outscored their opponents by 17.6 points per game from 3-point range, the second biggest differential in the 43 seasons of the 3-point line and more than double that of any other team this season. Portland ranked second at +8.5 points per game.
  4. Led the league in rebounding percentage (52.9%). One of two teams (New Orleans was the other) that ranked in the top five in both offensive (fifth) and defensive (second) rebounding percentage.
  5. Had the league’s second biggest home-road differential for winning percentage (31-5 at home, 21-15 on the road) and its third biggest home-road differential for point differential per 100 possessions (+12.9 at home, +5.2 on the road).
  6. Were the league’s best third-quarter team (+13.3 points per 100 possessions) and were a league-best 45-2 (0.957) when leading after the third quarter.

Jazz 2020-21 shot profile

 Area FGM FGA FG% Rank %FGA Rank
Restricted area 1,062 1,631 65.1% 13 26% 28
Other paint 529 1,172 45.1% 6 18% 12
Mid-range 175 443 39.5% 21 7% 30
Corner 3 343 856 40.1% 13 13% 1
Above-break 3 862 2,229 38.7% 3 35% 2

%FGA = Percentage of total field goal attempts

Jazz notes – Offense:

  1. Saw the league’s fifth biggest jump (+4.8) in points allowed per 100 possessions, from 111.8 (ninth) last season to 116.5 (fourth) this season.
  2. Took 48.8% of their shots, the league’s highest rate, from 3-point range. Only 61% of their 3-point attempts, the league’s third lowest rate, were catch-and-shoot attempts.
  3. Got a league-high 24.5 points per game from pick-and-roll ball-handlers. Led the league in effective field goal percentage on pull-up jumpers (50.1%). Their 9.2 pull-up 2-point attempts per game were the second fewest in the league.
  4. Ranked last with just 2.6 post-ups per game, according to Second Spectrum tracking.
  5. Saw the league’s second biggest jump in offensive rebounding percentage, from 26.1% (20th) last season to 28.4% (fifth) this season.
  6. Ranked third in clutch offense, scoring 117.8 points per 100 possessions with the score within five points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.

Jazz four factors

 Own/Opp. eFG% Rank FTA Rate Rank TO% Rank OREB% Rank
Own 56.3% 5 0.244 13 14.2% 19 28.4% 5
Opponent 50.7% 1 0.207 2 11.5% 30 24.3% 2

eFG% = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
FTA Rate = FTA/FGA
TO% = Turnovers per 100 possessions
OREB% = Percentage of available offensive rebounds obtained

Jazz notes – Defense:

  1. Saw the league’s fifth biggest drop (-1.7) in points allowed per 100 possessions, from 109.3 (13th) last season to 107.5 (third) this season.
  2. Only team that ranked in the top five in three of the four factors on defense (see above). Ranked 30th in the other one (opponent turnover rate).
  3. Ranked last with just 11.6 deflections per game and 28th with just 0.25 charges drawn per game.
  4. Only team that ranked in the top five in both opponent 3-point percentage (34.1%, second) and the (lowest) percentage of their opponent shots that came from 3-point range (34.8%, second). Allowed 34 fewer corner 3s than any other team.
  5. One of three teams – Golden State and Milwaukee were the others – that ranked in the top 10 in both opponent field goal percentage in the restricted area (63.0%, eighth) and the (lowest) percentage of their opponents’ shots that came from the restricted area (28%, seventh).
  6. Allowed 21.8 points per game, second most in the league, from pick-and-roll ball-handlers

Jazz notes – Lineups:

  1. Had four of the 12 league-wide lineups that played at least 200 minutes and outscored opponents by at least 10 points per 100 possessions. Three of those four ranked first, second and third in opponent effective field goal percentage among 30 lineups that played at least 200 minutes.
  2. Lineup of Mitchell, Bogdanovic, O’Neale, Ingles and Gobert outscored its opponents by 19.6 per 100, the best mark among those 30 lineups. It ranked first in both effective field goal percentage (62.3%) and free throw rate (33.2 attempts per 100 shots from the field) among those 30 lineups.
  3. Lineup of Conley, Clarkson, Ingles, Niang and Gobert allowed just 101.5 points per 100 possessions, the best mark among those 30 lineups.
  4. Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale played 1,941 total minutes together, second most among all two-man combinations.
  5. The Jazz were 17.9 points per 100 possessions better with Gobert on the floor (+15.9) than they were with him off the floor (-2.0). That was the biggest differential among 233 players who played at least 1,000 minutes for a single team. Conley had the second biggest differential (+16.7 vs. +3.0). The Jazz outscored their opponents by 728 points with Gobert on the floor. That was the highest cumulative plus-minus mark in the league by a wide margin, with Conley second at +548.
  6. Outscored their opponents by 16.7 points per 100 possessions with Conley on the floor. That was the highest on-court mark among 345 players who averaged at least 10 minutes per game. Gobert (+15.9), Niang (+14.6), Ingles (+11.8) and O’Neale (+10.4) had the second, third, sixth and 10th highest marks, respectively.

Jazz notes – Individuals:

  1. Bojan Bogdanovic tied for second with 86 corner 3s, leading the league with 60 (on 46% shooting) from the right corner.
  2. Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell were 47.1% and 46.6% from 3-point range in the third quarter. Those were the third and fourth best marks among 41 players with at least 100 third-quarter 3-point attempts. Jordan Clarkson had the worst mark (28.1%). Bogdanovic shot 106-for-241 (44.0%) from 3-point range in the first and third quarters, but just 73-for-217 (33.6%) in the second and fourth, with similar splits in previous seasons.
  3. Clarkson scored 1.03 points per possession as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, the fourth best mark among 43 players with at least 300 ball-handler possessions. Mike Conley had the sixth best mark (1.03).
  4. Clarkson attempted 455 more 3s (599) than free throws (144). That was the league’s third biggest differential. He shot 31-for-108 (28.7%) on corner 3s, the second worst mark among 60 players who attempted at least 75.
  5. Derrick Favors committed 5.0 fouls per 36 minutes, the third highest rate among 251 players who played at least 1,000 minutes.
  6. Rudy Gobert ranked second in both rebounds per game (13.5) and blocks per game (2.7). Opponents shot 50.1% at the rim when Gobert was there to protect. That was the fourth best rim-protection mark among 72 players who defended at least 200 total shots at the rim. He was the only player to play at least 1,000 minutes with more blocks (190) than personal fouls (163).
  7. Gobert had free throw rate of 64.6 attempts per 100 shots from the field, the second highest rate among 250 players with at least 300 field goal attempts.
  8. Gobert (67.5%) and Joe Ingles (65.2%) ranked first and fourth in effective field goal percentage among 250 players with at least 300 field goal attempts.
  9. Conley (41.5%) and Ingles (41.2%) ranked first and second in pull-up 3-point percentage among 61 players with at least 100 attempts.
  10. Mitchell ranked fourth with 11.2 pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions per game. The 0.96 points per possession he scored on ball-handler possessions ranked 21st among 43 players with at least 300 total. His effective field goal percentage of 49.8% on pull-up jumpers ranked 24th among 83 players who attempted at least 83.
  11. Mitchell accounted for 49.1% of the Jazz’s field goal attempts when he was on the floor with the score within five points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime. That was the highest rate among players who played at least 25 clutch minutes. He shot 20-for-54 (37.0%) on clutch shots, the third worst mark among 33 players who attempted at least 50.
  12. Georges Niang had an effective field goal percentage of 65.6% at home and 51.1% on the road. That was the second biggest home-road differential among 235 players with at least 150 field goal attempts both at home and on the road.
  13. Niang had free throw rate of 5.7 attempts per 100 shots from the field, the second lowest rate among 250 players with at least 300 field goal attempts.
  14. Royce O’Neale accounted for just 9.7% of the Jazz’s field goal attempts while he was on the floor, the fifth lowest rate among 362 players who played at least 500 minutes. Mitchell (33.6%) and Clarkson (31.7%) had the third and seventh highest rates, respectively.
  15. Ingles (58/1) and O’Neale (40/1) had the second and third highest ratios of 3-point attempts to mid-range attempts among 201 players with at least 200 total field goal attempts from outside the paint.

Memphis Grizzlies (38-34)

Pace: 100.8 (8)
OffRtg: 111.7 (15)
DefRtg: 110.5 (7)
NetRtg: +1.2 (14)

Regular season: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups

vs. Utah: Team stats | Advanced splits | Player stats | Player shooting | Lineups

Grizzlies notes – General:

  1. Are the only team that has seen improvement, both in regards to winning percentage and point differential per 100 possessions, in each of the last three seasons, going from 22-60 (0.268) and -6.8 per 100 in 2018-18 to 38-34 (0.528) and +1.2 this season.
  2. Were a better-than-average team on both ends of the floor (just a hair better than the league average on offense) for just the second time in the last 10 seasons.
  3. Ranked third in turnover differential, committing 1.5 fewer per game than their opponents. (The Spurs ranked second at -1.8 per game.)
  4. Tied for the second most losses (they were 37-12) after leading by double-digits. Were also 0-22 after trailing by 15 points or more. Sacramento (0-23) was the only other team without a win in a game it trailed by at least 15 points.
  5. Were 19-19 (0-2 against the Jazz) in games that were within five points in the last five minutes in the regular season, and 2-0 in the Play-In Tournament, scoring 31 points on 22 clutch possessions (141 per 100) against the Spurs and Warriors.

Grizzlies 2020-21 shot profile

 Area FGM FGA FG% Rank %FGA Rank
Restricted area 1,218 1,916 63.6% 16 29% 18
Other paint 791 1,802 43.9% 11 27% 1
Mid-range 274 633 43.3% 8 10% 26
Corner 3 233 611 38.1% 17 9% 16
Above-break 3 569 1,642 34.7% 24 25% 27

%FGA = Percentage of total field goal attempts

Grizzlies notes – Offense:

  1. Led the league in fast-break points (17.3), points in the paint (55.8) and second-chance points (15.0) per game. Only one other team (New Orleans) ranked in the top 10 in all three.
  2. Ranked second in the percentage of their shots (17%) that came in the first six seconds of the shot clock, but just 23rd in effective field goal percentage (59.6%) in the first six seconds, according to Second Spectrum tracking.
  3. One of two teams – San Antonio was the other – that has ranked in the bottom five in the percentage of its shots that came from 3-point range (34.2%, 27th this season) in each of the last two seasons.
  4. Ranked first in the percentage of their shots that came in the paint (56%), but just 25th in free throw rate (23.2 attempts per 100 shots from the field).
  5. 94% of their 3-point attempts, the league’s highest rate, were open or wide open, according to Second Spectrum tracking.
  6. Saw the league’s fifth biggest drop in ball movement, from 355 passes per 24 minutes of possession (fourth) last season to 330 (14th) this season.

Grizzlies four factors

 Own/Opp. eFG% Rank FTA Rate Rank TO% Rank OREB% Rank
Own 52.8% 22 0.232 25 13.1% 6 28.5% 4
Opponent 53.5% 12 0.249 14 14.6% 8 26.4% 15

eFG% = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
FTA Rate = FTA/FGA
TO% = Turnovers per 100 possessions
OREB% = Percentage of available offensive rebounds obtained

Grizzlies notes – Defense:

  1. Had the two best defensive games for any team this season, holding the Magic to 75 points on 100 possessions on April 30 and the Rockets to 84 points on 110 possessions (76.4 per 100) on Feb. 28.
  2. Tied for first in steals per game (9.1) and ranked fourth in deflections per game (16.3). 61% of their opponents’ turnovers, the league’s second highest rate, were live balls.
  3. Ranked 29th in opponent 3-point percentage from the corners (43.3%), but only 20.5% of their opponents’ 3-point attempts, the league’s second lowest rate, came from the corners.
  4. Ranked in the top five defensively in the first and third quarters, but 26th (113.0 points allowed per 100 possessions) in the fourth.
  5. Were the league’s fastest moving team on defense, averaging 3.97 miles per hour.
  6. Ranked last in charges drawn per game (0.22).

Grizzlies notes – Lineups:

  1. Lineup of Ja Morant, Grayson Allen, Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson and Jonas Valanciunas played 457 total minutes, seventh most of all five-man units. It outscored its opponents by 8.7 points per 100 possessions, a mark which ranked 16th among 30 lineups that played at least 200 total minutes.
  2. Outscored their opponents by 12.6 in 453 total minutes with Morant and De’Anthony Melton on the floor together, but were about even with one on the floor without the other, much worse defensively with Morant on the floor without Melton and much worse offensively with Melton on the floor without Morant.
  3. In their two Play-In wins, they outscored their opponents by 33 points in 63 minutes with Valanciunas on the floor (scoring 150 points on 128 offensive possessions) and were outscored by 24 points in Valanciunas’ 38 minutes on the bench (scoring just 67 points on 78 possessions).
  4. Got 40% of their minutes, the league’s third highest rate (highest among the 20 playoff and Play-In teams), from rookies (17%, seventh highest) or second-year players (25%, fifth highest).

Grizzlies notes – Individuals:

  1. Kyle Anderson scored 16.3 points per 36 minutes, up from 10.6 last season. That was the third biggest jump among 187 players who played at least 1,000 minutes in each of the last two seasons.
  2. Desmond Bane shot 117-for-271 (43.2%) from 3-point range, the second best mark for a qualified rookie in the last 11 seasons. He shot 39-for-78 (50.0%) on corner 3s, the fifth best mark among 60 players who attempted at least 75.
  3. Dillon Brooks passed on just 21.9% of his drives, the second lowest rate among 115 players with at least 300 total drives.
  4. Brooks shot 42.5% on pull-up 2-pointers on just 25.0% on pull-up 3-pointers. That was the third biggest differential among 54 players who attempted at least 100 of each.
  5. Brandon Clarke had an effective field goal percentage of 53.7%, down from 64.2% last season. That was the fourth biggest drop among 250 players with at least 200 field goal attempts in each of the last two seasons.
  6. Tyus Jones led the league in assist/turnover ratio (5.40) for the third straight season. He committed turnovers on just 2.2% of his drives, the lowest rate among 115 players with at least 300 total drives.
  7. Jones was the only player who played at least 1,000 minutes and committed fewer than one foul per 36. He was also one of three players to play at least 1,000 minutes with more steals (64) than personal fouls (31), doing so for the third time in his career.
  8. De’Anthony Melton saw the third biggest jump in 3-point percentage (from 28.6% to 41.2%) among 202 players with at least 100 3-point attempts in each of the last two seasons.
  9. Melton averaged 4.4 deflections per 36 minutes, third most among 251 players who played at least 1,000 minutes.
  10. Ja Morant ranked seventh with 10.3 pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions per game. The 0.81 points per possession he scored as a pick-and-roll ball-handler ranked 36th among 43 players with at least 300 total ball-handler possessions. Brooks’ 0.80 ranked 38th.
  11. Morant ranked fifth with 18.4 drives per game. The 45.1% he shot on drives ranked 115th among 154 players with at least 100 field goal attempts. Morant (38.2%) and Brooks (36.6%) ranked 30th and 31st in field goal percentage on non-restricted-area paint shots among 32 players with at least 200 attempts.
  12. Morant shot 34.4% from 3-point range after the All-Star break, up from 23.3% before the break. That was the biggest post-break jump among 162 players with at least 75 3-point attempts both before and after the break.
  13. Morant ranked second with 1.3 secondary assists per game.
  14. Xavier Tillman was one of nine players to shoot 70% or better on at least 100 attempts in the restricted area and 50% or better on at least 75 attempts elsewhere in the paint.
  15. Tillman and Grayson Allen combined for as many clutch 3s in the Play-In games (3-for-4) as they did in the regular season (3-for-11, all from Allen).
  16. Jonas Valanciunas led the league with 5.2 second-chance points per game and ranked fifth in total rebounding percentage, grabbing 21.0% of available rebounds while he was on the floor. He ranked seventh in offensive rebounding percentage (13.5%) and fifth in defensive rebounding percentage (28.8%).
  17. For the third straight season, Valanciunas was one of exactly five players who shot 65% or better on at least 200 attempts in the restricted area and 50% or better on at least 100 attempts elsewhere in the paint.
  18. Justise Winslow‘s effective field goal percentage of 35.6% was the worst mark among 396 players with at least 100 field goal attempts.

Regular season matchup

Jazz won season series, 3-0

• Jazz 117, Grizzlies 114 (March 26 @ Utah)

• Jazz 126, Grizzlies 110 (March 27 @ Utah)

• Jazz 111, Grizzlies 107 (March 31 @ Memphis)

Pace: 103.0 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes
Utah OffRtg: 114.2 (9th vs. Memphis)
Memphis OffRtg: 107.5 (15th vs. Utah)

Total points scored, season series

Area UTA MEM Diff.
Restricted area 96 78 18
Other paint 52 80 -28
Total in paint 148 158 -10
Mid-range 16 40 -24
3-point range 141 78 63
Total outside paint 157 118 39
Free throws 49 55 -6
Fast break points 39 40 -1
2nd chance points 40 54 -14

Matchup notes:

  1. All three games took place in the last six days of March, before Jaren Jackson Jr. made his season debut for the Grizzlies, who were also without Grayson Allen in the third meeting. Mike Conley rested the second game of the back-to-back in Utah.
  2. The Jazz were one of three teams – the Nuggets and Lakers were the others – to beat the Grizzlies three times this season.
  3. The Jazz’s 58 points in the paint on March 26 were their fourth highest total of the season. The March 27 game was tied for the fastest-paced game (109 possessions each) the Jazz played this season.
  4. The Grizzlies took only 21% of their shots, their lowest rate against any opponent this season, in the restricted area. But their 71 total free throw attempts were the most against the Jazz this season.
  5. In the back-to-back in Utah, the Jazz won the two first quarters by a total score of 77-43.
  6. The Jazz outscored the Grizzlies by 47 points in Rudy Gobert’s 95 minutes on the floor and were outscored by 24 points in his 49 minutes on the bench, though that latter number includes a -10 in 6 1/2 minutes of garbage time in the second meeting.
  7. Mitchell scored 35 points in both of the games in Utah. His 35 points per game were tied for the highest average for any player who played at least two games against the Grizzlies this season. His effective field goal percentage of 72.5% was the fifth best mark among 94 players with at least 25 field goal attempts against the Grizzlies this season. Dillon Brooks was the primary defender on Mitchell and did have 11 deflections over the three games, but Mitchell shot 6-for-9 with six free throw attempts against that matchup.
  8. Royce O’Neale was the primary defender on Ja Morant, who shot 10-for-16 with 11 free throw attempts against the matchup. Morant’s seven 3-pointers (on 16 attempts) against the Jazz were the most he made vs. any opponent this season.

* * *

John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.

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