The Grizzlies practiced at FedExForum on Friday afternoon. They did so without guard Marcus Smart, whom the team later announced would be out three-to-five weeks with what the team has diagnosed as a left foot sprain.

After practice, the team hit the road, jetting to San Antonio for a one-game road trip.

After playing the Spurs on Saturday night, Nov. 18, the team will be right back in Memphis to host the Boston Celtics on Sunday night.

Four Grizzlies items of note as the weekend double-dip looms:

Grizzlies coach updates Smart, Kennard injury status

Marcus Smart’s diagnosis and the ever-spinning lineup merry-go-round

The new timetable for Smart, who suffered an injury against the Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the week, would put his return at around the same time, give or take a week, as Ja Morant’s projected return, which is Dec. 19. 

This means the Grizzlies will be forced to make another starting lineup change on Saturday.

Could it be a chance for Ziaire Williams to rejoin the starting lineup? Will it be an opening for David Roddy, who’s perhaps played best among the team’s young wings this season?

Or will Jenkins toss another curveball, the way he did when inserting two-way guard Jacob Gilyard into the starting lineup the last time injury forced a change? Stick a pin in this: Ostensible power forward Santi Aldama was used at small forward, for the first time this season, in the second half against the Lakers. 

Jenkins wasn’t offering much in the way of clues after Friday’s practice, but with Smart now expected to miss at least three weeks, the coach hopes this next lineup change won’t be a one-off.

“I’m really focused on chemistry, so hopefully it’s a lineup change we can kind of roll with, with a little bit of consistency,” said Jenkins.

It will not be Luke Kennard, who the team announced is out for Saturday’s game with a left knee bone bruise. 

“He’s feeling a little bit better but I’m not sure about the weekend,” said Jenkins, before the team made the Kennard announcement.

Speaking of guards with knee soreness, the Grizzlies are likely to get Derrick Rose back for one of this weekend’s games, but not both.

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Rose was a full participant in practice.

“We’re hopeful for this weekend,” said Jenkins. “Obviously we’re going to be smart with this back to back, we’re not sure (if Rose will play) front end or back end.”

Weekend extremes and homecourt ignominy

ESPN analyst Kirk Goldsberry puts out this graph weekly during the NBA season:

For the Grizzlies’ weekend purposes, a couple of things in particular jump out: Their two upcoming opponents threatening to float off the graph completely.

For the 3-8 Spurs, that’s a bad thing, their dual 29th-ranked offense and 29th-ranked defense over the past 10 games putting them all alone on a sort of Island of “Ugh” amid what Goldsberry already calls the Quadrant of Woe. (You’ll note that the Grizzlies are, yes, in the quadrant.) 

As for the 9-2 Celtics, they’re hummin’. 

Boston’s second-ranked offense and top-ranked defense over the same period has them floating well above the fray in the Quadrant of Wow. Even the defending champion Nuggets are losing touch with them.

That doesn’t bode well for the Grizzlies getting their first home win of the season on Sunday. At 0-5, the Grizzlies are the only team in the NBA that hasn’t registered a win on its home floor. And if they fall to 0-6 at home on Sunday, the Grizzlies will match their total number of FedExForum losses from last season, when their 35-6 record home record was best in the NBA. 

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The opponent 3-point avalanche

This is not a news flash: The Grizzlies are getting hammered from the 3-point line. 

But some context on just how bad it’s been: Opponents are currently shooting 42% from 3 against the Grizzlies, which would be the worst mark in NBA history over a full season. 

Only two teams have ever finished a season with opponent 3-point shooting above 40%: The 2008-2009 Sacramento Kings and 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers, when volume was lower.

And those Cavs (19) and Kings (17) teams each won fewer than 20 games in 82-game seasons. Messages: This kind of opponent shooting is insurmountable. It’s also unlikely to continue being quite this bad.

Luck you can’t control. The rest? The Grizzlies have work to do.

Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart leaves game with ankle injury

It’s generally understood that the Grizzlies’ defensive philosophy is focused on the paint and corner 3-pointers, which can make them susceptible to above-the-break 3s. That’s what’s been happening, and Aldama confirmed both the emphasis and the dynamic on Friday.

“The biggest thing for us defensively is taking away corner 3s and taking away the paint. I think teams have been shooting it better than normal this year against us, especially above the break,” said Aldama.

“I think it probably has to do with us over-shifting because we’re not playing good enough one-on-one defense. That’s something we’ve been working on, especially today. We’ve got to put our teammates in better positions not to overhelp.” 

Jenkins cited a long list of things the Grizzlies can do better defensively on this front, including “on-ball pressure,” the “pick-up points” when guarding pick-and-roll plays and general defensive discipline.

The Lakers crushed the Grizzlies. But that’s not the worst part.

“We’re not playing well defensively from the wings, especially from the 3-point line,” said Jenkins. “We’re studying it and we’re going to shore up a few things from a fundamental standpoint.” 

Misery loves company: While the Grizzlies have suffered the worst opponent 3-point shooting this season, their Saturday opponents are next to last. Teams are shooting just above 40% from 3 against the Spurs, a number that would be third-worst all-time, after those Kings and Cavs teams.

First look at Wemby

While local fans will have to wait longer for an up-close look, the Grizzlies will see Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama for the first time on Saturday.

The 7’4” teenager, who was the top pick in this past summer’s NBA draft, is averaging 19 points, nine rebounds and more than two blocks to begin his NBA career.

Wemby’s stratospheric upside was on display in a win over Phoenix a couple of weeks ago, when he scored 38 points on 15-26 shooting.

He’s also shot worse than 40% in four of his past five games, while the Spurs have lost six straight. Even the most talented teenaged rookies are still teenaged rookies. 

“I’ve seen some of his games,” said Aldama. “He’s obviously pretty tall and all this. But same as always, we just want to win the game and be physical with him.”