Tuomas Iisalo Credits 'Very Connected Group' for Grizzlies' 6-0 Road Start
· Yahoo Sports
The Memphis Grizzlies are 6-0 away from FedExForum after a 142-111 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at Smoothie King Center.
At home, Memphis is 2-4.
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The road wins have come at Golden State (111-108 on Oct. 23), Sacramento (123-112 on Oct. 25), Utah (110-105 on Oct. 26), Portland (124-103 on Oct. 29), Toronto (118-102 on Nov. 9), and now New Orleans. The four home losses came against New Orleans, Indiana, Oklahoma City, and Denver, with the last of them a 123-118 loss to the Nuggets on Wednesday.
Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said after Friday's game that it is very hard to say what is behind the road record.
"I just like — we have a very connected group," Iisalo said. "We all like to spend time together, and on the road, I think, it's a great opportunity. It shows up. You take the bus together to the game. You don't show up individually at the arena. So maybe there's something to it. But I really like how we played on the road this season. Obviously, the results have been great so far."
Ten Grizzlies in Double Figures
Friday's win was the sixth straight away from home, and 10 Memphis players scored in double figures. Jerami Grant had 22 points off the bench, Ty Jerome had 17 points and 9 assists, and Cedric Coward had 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Memphis shot 18-of-45 from 3-point range and 36-of-41 at the free-throw line, and Saddiq Bey scored 30 for New Orleans.
Javon Small became the 10th when he scored on a driving layup with 26 seconds left. He finished with 10 points and 5 assists, and Cam Spencer set him up.
Memphis is 8-4 overall. The Grizzlies went 25-57 last season, Iisalo's first full season as head coach, and finished 13th in the Western Conference.
Iisalo did not think Small knew, as the clock ran down, that he was about to become the 10th.
"That's one of the beauties of this team, is nobody really thinks that way," Iisalo explained. "Everybody's trying to think of what's best for the team. We went through a very difficult season last year, and nobody wants to be part of that type of experience. So everybody is in a great headspace regarding that, that as long as we do everything for the team, we'll all be happier."
'Happiness Within a Team Follows Winning'
The Grizzlies had 36 assists on 44 baskets Friday and committed 12 turnovers. Memphis has scored at least 110 points in all six road wins.
On several sequences Friday, Iisalo said, the Grizzlies drew a second defender and found the open teammate, and the next player did the same.
"In sports there's a lot about, 'Hey, let's discuss things,' and most of the time the team chemistry, the happiness within a team, follows winning," Iisalo said. "So when you do everything in order to try to get the team to win, most of the time guys are going to be happy, because even if you don't always win, they see the commitment from everybody to that common cause, and that's usually how it goes."
"And you're not going to talk the team chemistry into the team and then start winning," Iisalo continued. "It usually goes the opposite way."
Iisalo was named the Grizzlies' full-time head coach on May 2, 2025.
The Grizzlies' first loss of the season also came against New Orleans, a 135-134 overtime defeat in Memphis on Nov. 2. That defeat ended a 6-0 start. At Friday's shootaround, Coward said New Orleans "punked us" that night. Memphis led the rematch by as many as 31.
Memphis led 70-58 at halftime Friday and 105-86 after three quarters.
The Grizzlies' 6-0 start to the season matched the best season-opening streak in franchise history, The Associated Press reported after the Nov. 2 loss.
Memphis faces the Brooklyn Nets at FedExForum on Saturday, then plays at the Washington Wizards on Monday and at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.