The need for Grizzlies to limit Sacramento's transition attack

The Memphis Grizzlies will be short-staffed and undersized again, but they’ll be visited by the league’s basement team on Monday (Sacramento Kings), so it could be worse.

These are sort of like tune-ups professional fighters use to stay sharp. Opportunities will be there in transition for shooters, and they shouldn’t have to work as hard on the other side because of Sacramento’s limited scoring options.

Here is what you need to know.

Key in on Sacramento’s weapons

One might look around and think what’s left when examining Sacramento’s roster. They’ll probably start Precious Achiuwa, whom the Miami Heat had signed for 23 days before the season started. He can be left open when outside to help on others but is an efficient scorer in the in-between area of the lane. The low man should be enough help to deal with Achiuwa.

Still, Sacramento’s top option, Malik Monk, hasn’t started any game this season. He’s got a quick twitch when dribbling and has deep range, so he cannot be given space to pull up cleanly in transition or when coming across screens. Keep in mind that he connects on 40 percent of his 3-pointers in his career against Memphis.

Next is Russell Westbrook. He’s another with a poor outside jumper who must be forced into playing from the perimeter and limited in transition.

Go back to GG Jackson and more

The Grizzlies have done a solid job lately of getting to the line. They need to follow up on their work, attacking the body so they can cut the flow of the game, and put their opponent more often in the half-court.

GG Jackson has been on a roll the last month, and he needs to be featured as often as possible. His advantage is that big men struggle to keep up with him since he plays more like a perimeter player. Getting him involved on screen rolls is a good way to create an uncontested runway.

Additionally, Ty Jerome needs to get a heavy dose of primary action in the half-court to take advantage of Sacramento’s poor outside defense. It wouldn’t be a bad idea either to run two-man action with him and Cam Spencer as one of them could become a decoy and open things up for the other.

Don’t give them a break

At times, the Kings can be sloppy with the ball, and their mistakes affect their defense. They concede 18.3 points off turnovers nightly, so the Grizzlies must punish them for it and take advantage of their poor defensive rebounding.