The days keep passing and the Memphis Grizzlies remain undefeated. And it’s beginning to stop looking like a fluke. The schedule and the element of surprise could justify some of the early wins, but that second factor has now completely faded and this morning you can no longer rely on the first. Because, in a clash of surprising unbeatens, the Tennessee team visited the Moda Center in Portland to measure themselves against one of the season’s early sensations.
With a 124-103 victory, they proved that the real sensation was them.
The Tuomas Iisalo-led squad has positioned itself as co-leaders of the West, tied with the Houston Rockets as the only teams that still don’t know what it’s like to lose. And they achieved this by throttling a Blazers side that had dazzled offensively wherever they went and that also counted their games as wins. But today, between the wall they found in the paint and the shooting struggles from beyond the arc, they were reduced to a lesser team.
Solid as Concrete
The Grizzlies understood perfectly how they should win this game. Portland had shone so far with strong numbers from three, but the backbone of their attack is always their ability to get into the paint and generate from there. A task that today, against a team that had a very clear plan on what to stop, proved impossible. And even more as the minutes progressed and the visitors grew more confident seeing their work pay off.
Only Deni Avdija, stronger, faster, or smarter (sometimes all of them) than any of the men who defended him was able to generate advantages with regularity, but his edge began to fade as the minutes wore on. Memphis may be a young team, but by no means soft, and as the level of contact and defensive aggressiveness rose and they prevented him from attacking in semi-transition, the Israeli faded. And with him, the only light for the locals dimmed as well.
This would have been easier to camouflage with a bit of outside shooting, but little to nothing was seen from that team that had been averaging 17 threes per game in the opening nights. With a 12/49 (24.5%), the Blazers invited the Grizzlies to pack it in further, as no one besides Camara seemed capable of punishing them regularly. With Lillard (1/9) pressed to keep his attempts at bay and a good read on who could be given space and who could not, the Tennessee side forced turnover after turnover and collapsed the league’s best offense of the early weeks.
And thus, a team that had not dropped below 124 points per night only reached 100 in garbage time.
Everyone Plays
Ty Jerome has been the breakout name for the Grizzlies in this early stretch, and one might imagine that a win in Oregon would hinge largely on his hands. But far from it. The Blazers emphasized clamping down on the guard, who faced oversized defenders like Camara to prevent easy throwing, and with Donovan Clingan meeting him high up after a direct screen to nullify his mid-range game, he finished at 3/12. But there are many other things around him.
No one needed to post big scoring numbers because Memphis proved to be a team where everyone contributes. Some in transition, others from deep, others finishing near the rim… But all know where and how to add. Eight players finished in double digits, but none reached 20, distributing the scoring and giving everyone a chance to shine. Although none, admittedly, with as much force as Cam Boozer.
CAM BOOZER TRIPLE-DOUBLE.
GRIZZLIES STAY UNDEFEATED.Boozer (18p, 12r, 12a) becomes the second-youngest NBA player to ever record a triple-double, propelling the @memgrizz to their first 5-0 start since the 2014-15 season! https://t.co/TX7La2PPTL
— NBA (@NBA) October 30, 2026
The rookie gave a full display of his great court vision and quick execution to help his teammates click on offense, and with strong outside shooting he kept adding points until he filled the boxscore in all categories. And he did so to a historic extent. With 18 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds, he became the second-youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, as well as the fifth to do it in just five games as a professional, confirming that, as the pre-Draft analyses suggested, he arrives more than ready for the NBA.
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