The need for Grizzlies to pressure Kyshawn George in Washington

The Memphis Grizzlies will wrap up their season series with the Washington Wizards on Sunday, eight days after suffering their most “you have got to be kidding me” loss of the season to the same squad. That was the night Santi Aldama didn’t get enough help, and they didn’t go hard enough on the glass to limit extra opportunities. This time on the road, the Grizzlies have the same chance they previously had to use this team as a stepping stone to get back to .500.

The Wizards are going into this game with only four wins in December out of 11, so this is a tune-up the Grizzlies cannot fold in.

Here is what you need to know.

Keep pressure on the ball

CJ McCollum can abuse players he puts on an island. Keep in mind that he averages a 54.6 effective field goal percentage on all pull-up shots. Sending high pick-up points against him is mandatory when he is coming down in transition with the ball.

Aside from McCollum, Kyshawn George is going to get lots of the on-ball usage. The latter is a versatile forward/guard who is stronger than he looks at 6'8 and has a mean advantage going downhill when cross-matched with smaller players. They’ll need to get the ball out of his hands, so denying the catch, trapping and quickly sending a show-and-recover plus all the other tricks of the trade will be necessary.

Next in importance is playing at the level of the screen, defending Alex Sarr on pick-and-roll. He can’t have the openings to hoist a trey off the catch, since he makes 39.3 percent of those attempts, nor can he be allowed to roll unchallenged to the cup.

Get strong reps from Ja Morant

Nobody can twist through the lane like Morant on the squad. He returned from a four-game absence caused by a left ankle sprain in Friday’s win versus the Milwaukee Bucks, and was back to his old self, finding mismatches with the pass, plus feeding teammates in transition and on the drive and kick. When he is racking up high assist numbers (10) and playing within the flow of the offense, the Grizzlies have some teeth, but he can’t forget that sometimes the right play is one for himself. He should have plenty of chances to get to his sweet spot to set up his floater, which is his most effective shot.

Keeping their feet on the gas

A 20-point lead evaporates constantly in the NBA when teams pay poor attention to the 3-point line late in the game. It happened to the Grizzlies on Dec. 20, too, as they allowed six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter after starting the period tied. They have to start changing their narrative on their 3-point defense because they permit opponents 22.1 wide-open looks and are getting lucky that more aren’t falling (36.9).