Houston Rockets: 3 keys to defeating the Memphis Grizzlies

1. Slow down the “others”

The NBA is a star driven league, but a superstar can’t win every game by himself. Great role players and a deep bench can have an enormous impact on the outcome of a game. The great Shaquille O’Neal always talks about the “others” on a team. Can the role players show up and hold or even take a lead when the star players take a rest? Can a team play decent defense against the stars but stop everyone else from having a break out game?

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In the first game against the Grizzlies, their team’s stars came to play. Marc Gasol finished with 26 points and Mike Conley chipped in 17. Memphis also got 14 points from James Ennis, 11 from Jarell Martin and 11 from Mario Chalmers. However, the second matchup was an unacceptable defensive performance from Houston.

In the second game, Mike Conley had just 8 points and Marc Gasol could only muster up 6 points. But Chandler Parsons, who was previously booed in Memphis, went off for 24 points, while Mario Chalmers had 15 points and Tyreke Evans contributed 14 points. It would be hard to imagine James Harden and Chris Paul combining for 14 points and 8 assists, while no other starter scored more than nine points, yet the Rockets were still able to win by double digits. Yet, that is precisely what the Grizzlies did to Houston on Oct. 28.

For the Rockets to give themselves the best chance at winning, they have to limit the contributions of the others for the Memphis Grizzlies.

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*All stats came from NBA.com