Grizzlies’ Tuomas Iisalo Encouraged by Small-Spencer Backcourt

Javon Small and Cam Spencer checked in together with 7:40 left in the first quarter Monday night, and Toronto led 8-5. Over the next 80 seconds, the Memphis Grizzlies scored 7 straight points.

Spencer assisted on Jaylen Wells’ tying 3-pointer, stole a pass from RJ Barrett, and found Small for a floater that put Memphis ahead 10-8. Cameron Boozer’s layup made it 12-8. The Grizzlies went on to win 118-102 at Scotiabank Arena.

Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said Memphis talks a lot about the offensive performances of its guards.

“Overall, the season is very early right now, and we want to make sure we get a good look at all the different options we have, and nothing is set in stone,” Iisalo said. “And our guys know this, that there’s going to be nights where some guys play and others don’t, and that’s part of our depth. And then sometimes we might play in the first half, won’t play in the second half. All they got to do is keep working there.”

“And the two-guard lineups, I thought they really brought a balance to our offense, where now it’s harder for opponents to pressure us,” Iisalo continued. “We get to our spots a little bit faster, and then we don’t need to force-feed the ball to one handler only. So, without seeing the game on film, we now done it in two games in a row, and my first feelings are positive about that.”

Small, who is on a two-way contract, finished with 9 points on 3-of-5 shooting and 5 assists in 23:41. Two of those assists were alley-oop dunks for Taylor Hendricks, and Small hit a 30-foot pull-up 3 that made it 78-68 midway through the third quarter.

Monday was his third appearance of the season. He had been inactive seven times while on two-way assignment to the Memphis Hustle, and he scored 10 in his second appearance, Friday against Oklahoma City.

Spencer had 7 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers in 16:34. All 7 of his points came in the second quarter, when he went 3-of-3.

He entered averaging 8.9 points and 5.1 assists and shooting 51.6% from 3-point range. His one start this season came Oct. 31, when he tied a career high with 13 assists against Sacramento while Ty Jerome sat with upper back soreness.

Quinten Post played 1:56 before leaving with 4:03 left in the first quarter. Hendricks took his place, and 10 seconds later he caught the first of Small’s two lobs.

Hendricks scored 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 15:41. He made a 3-pointer in the first quarter, tipped in his own miss in the second, stole a Jaden Bradley pass in the third, and blocked a Barrett drive in the fourth.

Before Monday, Hendricks had appeared in four games for a total of about 17 minutes. He sat five times by coach’s decision. He was the ninth pick in 2023 out of UCF, and this is his second season in Memphis.

Iisalo said the vibes on the Memphis bench were good and the players there stayed positive and engaged.

“The whole team, we were put in a tough situation there after Quinten Post was also deemed not to be able to continue playing,” Iisalo explained, “and we had some lineups that have never played together. We kind of mixed and matched the things we did, and I thought our guys found a good balance between still playing with our identity, but also playing to the strengths of those particular units with very little practice time together. So that was also encouraging.”

Jerome counted contributions from everybody on the roster.

“Shout out my guy T-Henny, man,” Jerome said. “He was great tonight for us, great minutes. But everyone does a great job of staying ready, keeping a positive attitude, and that’s going to be big for us over the course of 82.”

GG Jackson II did not play Friday against Oklahoma City. In Toronto, he played 17:08 and finished with 2 points, both at the free-throw line, on 0-of-3 shooting. He blocked a Ja’Kobe Walter putback early in the fourth quarter.

Jackson entered averaging 7.4 points. His season high is 21, against Sacramento on Oct. 31, when he went 5-of-5 from 3-point range.

Kris Murray and Olivier-Maxence Prosper checked in for the final 48 seconds.

The Memphis bench outscored Toronto’s 44-27. Grizzlies reserves came in averaging 45.7 points per game, second in the league behind New Orleans, according to the team’s game notes.

Hendricks set a career high with 6 steals the last time Memphis played Denver, a 125-118 home win on March 18. The Nuggets visit FedExForum on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT.