The Memphis Grizzlies are the NBA's darling but history is against them winning a championship

Winning is a cure-all for the mistakes and inefficiencies that can occur throughout a game.

Sometimes those struggles get lost within the thrill of success. As successful as the Memphis Grizzlies have been this season, entering Tuesday with the league's third-best record, their shooting numbers are an area of real concern.

The Grizzlies are 24h in the NBA in made 3-pointers and 27th in free-throw percentage. When the playoffs begin in mid-April, teams will focus on slowing down Memphis' fast-paced attack. The style of play will be more physical and involve more half-court possessions. Making free throws and open 3-pointers will be even more important.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins and his players are aware of the shooting numbers. Jenkins has emphasized making a higher percentage of 3-pointers, but truth be told, the Grizzlies (43-20) have played 63 games. There's nothing drastic that will change at this point.

"Work on it, honestly" Jenkins said. "I think we got a lot of opportunity coming up over the next couple of weeks with timing between games, being at home a little bit more, where we can really invest time in the gym."

The Grizzlies don't plan to just give in to the slower style of play that usually accompanies the playoffs.

"We just got to keep doing the things that we've done well offensively and defensively and take that up a notch," Jenkins said.

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The West has been the tougher conference for most of the 21st century, with only one franchise winning the West while ranking as low as the Grizzlies in shooting numbers.

Historical outlook

Only the L.A. Lakers have won the West while finishing the season ranked in the bottom third of free throw and 3-point percentage, and they did it four times.

The first three times were with Shaquille O'Neal dominating the inside. He got fouled often and was a career 52.7% free-throw shooter, so those numbers skewed that percentage. The Lakers won the championships in 2000 and 2001 but lost in 2004.

The most recent example is the 2020 Lakers, who finished 21st in 3-point percentage and 28th on free throws. LeBron James and Anthony Davis led that team to a dominant championship run in the COVID-19 bubble.

Similarities with Grizzlies?

There are similarities between the Grizzlies and those four Lakers teams. Like the Lakers, the Grizzlies dominate the paint and have size.

James, Davis and Dwight Howard made one of the NBA's tallest frontcourts in 2020, and O'Neal led the NBA in paint points in 2000, 2001 and 2004 during the prime of his Hall of Fame career. For Memphis, Ziaire Williams, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Steven Adams also form one of the NBA's tallest frontcourts, and guard Ja Morant, while not big in stature, leads the NBA with 16.8 paint points per game.

Those Lakers teams had frontcourt players who were unstoppable paint scorers to offset the 3-point shooting. The Grizzlies have guards in Morant and Dillon Brooks as their leaders in the paint, and Brandon Clarke is also ranked in the top 50 in paint scoring.

Adams is shooting 55.3% on free throws on 2.7 attempts per game, so that hurts the percentage. Desmond Bane is at 90%, but he only attempts 1.9 free throws. Morant leads the Grizzlies with 7.2 attempts per game and shoots 75.4%.

Like those Lakers teams, the Grizzlies, with the second most in the league, are near the top of the NBA in free-throw attempts per game.

"I've got a lot of confidence in these guys," Jenkins said. "Obviously, we know there's significant areas of improvement from the 3-point line, especially getting to the free-throw line a lot, we got to be able to convert at a higher rate. Our guys understand that. They don't take that lightly."

How can they improve?

The impending return of Brooks is the biggest fix. He has shot 32.7% on 3-pointers in 21 games. The Grizzlies are shooting 34% as a team, and Brooks shot better than that in his first four seasons.

Brooks was third on the Grizzlies with 3.4 free-throw attempts per game before his ankle injury. He was shooting a career high 88.9% from the line and he's at 80% over his five-year career.

Brooks is closing in on a return, and that's the best help the Grizzlies can get to fix their shooting numbers.

"He's progressing well," Jenkins said. "I think we are getting close to seeing him return hopefully. He's trending in a good direction."

Contact Damichael Cole at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @damichaelc

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Can Memphis Grizzlies, Ja Morant win NBA championship in 2022?