Analyzing the key reasons behind Memphis Grizzlies posting the best offensive and the worst defensive rating in the 2021-22 NBA season so far

Prior to their overtime matchup with the Golden State Warriors, the Memphis Grizzlies were owners of both the NBA's best offensive rating and worst defensive rating. After the showdown, they sit fifth on offense and 26th on defense with five games under their belt.

These results are shocking considering that the Memphis Grizzlies ended the 2020-21 season with the 15th best offensive rating and seventh-highest defensive rating. With offseason changes made to the roster, it almost seemed as if the Memphis Grizzlies were committing further to their defense before the offensive approach.

Those roster changes include subtracting Jonas Valancuinas (their second most impactful offensive player), Grayson Allen, Gorgui Dieng and Justice Winslow. They added Steven Adams, Jarrett Culver and Sam Merrill. The Memphis Grizzlies also moved up in the draft to select Stanford product, Ziaire Williams, who is not projected to have much impact in year one. Santa Aldama was the other draft pick for the Memphis Grizzlies that night.

Some of their similar faces have taken on an increased workload this season and have performed well so far. The last other notable aspect of the roster is that Dillion Brooks has not participated in any of the Memphis Grizzlies' first five games. He will be sidelined for a few weeks with a fractured left-hand.

With all that out of the way, here are three reasons the Memphis Grizzlies have been shockingly stellar on offense and poor on defense early in the 2021-22 NBA season.

#3 Jaren Jackson Jr. playing the five

Memphis Grizzlies v Los Angeles Clippers

The Memphis Grizzlies have tested their young big man, Jaren Jackson Jr., alongside another big man as well as the lone size factor on the floor throughout his first three seasons in the NBA.

Year three is a tough measure for Jackson considering the played just 11 games due to an unfortunate injury that derailed his season. This season, however, Jackson has been starting at the forward position alongside Steven Adams but often finds himself as the center on the floor after Adams heads to the bench. The Memphis Grizzlies have played Jackson as the lone big man for 49 percent of his total minutes this season, per basketball-reference.

Offensively, this supplies ideal spacing for centerpiece Ja Morant to attack the rim and not run into opposing bodies. Jaren Jackson Jr. is a more than willing shooter from beyond the arc, currently converting his 7.2 threes per night at a 33.3 percent rate. Given what we have seen in the years prior, that percentage is expected to go up significantly while the volume remains.

As for the defensive end, Jackson has plenty of flashes, but his potential has not been actualized on a consistent basis since joining the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018. With a notably small sample of just 25 attempts, opposing players are converting 76 percent of their shots at the rim with Jackson nearby.

Jaren Jackson Jr.'s play, specifically when he was the center, has been a significant reason the Memphis Grizzlies have excelled on offense and struggled on defense.

#2 Hot starts for Desmond Bane and De'Anthony Melton

De'Anthony Melton and Desmond Bane were not unimportant members of the Memphis Grizzlies last season. However, their playing time has seen a significant jump in 2021-22.

Last season, Melton averaged 20.1 minutes per night while contributing 9.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals on a field goal percentage of 43.8 percent and a three point percentage of 42.1 percent.

Desmond Bane, meanwhile, played in his first NBA season last year with the Memphis Grizzlies. His averages were 9.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from three.

Both Bane and Melton were impactful defensive players who held their own on-ball, were disruptors off-ball, and possess impressive versatility with their length. That defensive impact remains apparent for the Memphis Grizzlies this season, but their increase in minutes makes it feel that way much more often.

Bane and Melton have both started all five games for the Memphis Grizzlies this season while averaging upwards of 30 minutes per showing. Their three-point volumes have allowed Morant more than sufficient spacing. Bane is shooting 41.5 percent from three on 8.2 attempts per night, while Melton is at 40.0 percent on 6.0 attempts.

Those numbers will obviously calm down, specifically Melton's, but both of those players have proven to the Memphis Grizzlies that they are more than capable outside shooters. Melton is doing most of his work within the flow of the offense, but Bane is showing that he has the capabilities to create for himself and others off the bounce.

Melton and Bane will surely calm down, but the Memphis Grizzlies have greatly benefited from their absurd early production while Dilion Brooks remains absent early in the season.

#1 Ja Morant is playing like a superstar

Memphis Grizzlies v Golden State Warriors

The Memphis Grizzlies seem to have already viewed Ja Morant as the centerpiece of their future last season, rightfully so. Last season was year two for the former second overall pick, and he averaged 19.1 points, 7.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 44.9 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from three, and 72.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Those numbers are more than solid for a 21-year-old that is being asked to run an NBA offense, and Morant led the Memphis Grizzlies to a postseason appearance. Most people viewed the young guard well on his way, but the level of production we saw from him in the first games of the season caught everyone by surprise.

The Murray State product is averaging 30.4 points, 7.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals while converting 54.4 from the field, 40.6 percent of his 6.4 three point attempts each night, and 84.4 percent from the free throw line over 35.8 minutes.

Again, it's only a sample of five games but that would mark a career-high in points, assists, rebounds, assists, field-goal percentage, three-point percentage and rate, free-throw percentage, and a few other categories. What else could you ask for?

The Memphis Grizzlies offense is elite because Ja Morant is elite while possessing a 32.8 percent usage rate.