Is the 6-1 Grizzlies start real? Or is it just a hot streak?
Despite a 6-1 start led by Ty Jerome, the Grizzlies’ record looks inflated by a soft schedule: four wins came against bottom-of-the-West Utah and Sacramento, their opponents are a combined 17-32, and they’ve only played two winning teams. With OKC, Denver, Minnesota, the Lakers and Philadelphia coming up, the real test is just starting, and the prediction is that Memphis will be back to .500 by Christmas.
The Memphis Grizzlies started the 2026-27 season hot at 6 wins in a row before losing to the New Orleans Pelicans in an overtime heartbreaker. The Grizzlies are currently flying with Ty Jerome leading the way. Heres why the Grizzlies' current record is a fluke: Four of the 6 wins came against Utah and Sacramento, who are both sitting at 1-6 and tied with the Clippers for worst in the West. They played each of these teams twice. The Grizzlies' opponents' combined record is 17-32 (.347). That's a weak schedule strictly by any measure.
The Grizzlies have struggled against these bad teams as well, only beasting Utah by 5 points, and losing at home to 3-4 New Orleans while giving up a nasty 135 points. They have also only played 2 winning teams, one being the Golden State Warriors, in which the Grizzlies' win only came down to 3 points, barely scraping by.
The schedule is going to get much harder now, after Indiana (2-6), they face OKC (5-2), Denver, Golden State again, Minnesota twice, Lakers (6-2), and Philadelphia (7-1). They beat Portland by 21, and Portland is 5–1 with Memphis being its only loss. That’s their best win, however it doesn't outweigh four total wins across some of the worst teams in the league
Look, I get it. six wins in seven games feels like a statement. But a hot October doesn’t win a playoff spot, and Memphis hasn’t faced the West’s best teams yet. When the schedule gets tougher, we’ll find out what this team really is. My guess? Back to .500 by Christmas. What do you think?