One of the keys to the Grizzlies’ surprising start to the season is that Mike Conley and Marc Gasol have played every game so far. But the Grizzlies got a reminder on Friday afternoon in Los Angeles of what playing without Conley is like, and it wasn’t pretty.

L.A. Clippers: 112, Memphis: 107

It took three big men in constant foul trouble, three technical fouls, and a fading, falling DeMar DeRozan jumper with 1.2 seconds to play for the San Antonio Spurs to almost beat the Memphis Grizzlies at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Thanksgiving eve. But even that wasn’t quite enough.

Chris Herrington, Geoff Calkins, and Don Wade launch the Daily Memphian Grizzlies Podcast by discussing the Memphis Grizzlies’ surprising start and how sustainable it may be.

After Monday night's 98-88 win over the Dallas Mavericks, the Memphis Grizzlies found themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the Western Conference. 

Mike Conley scored 28 points, Marc Gasol had 17 points and 15 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies broke open a close game in the fourth quarter to beat the Dallas Mavericks 98-88 on Monday night.

At 10-5, the Grizzlies are in a playoff race again after a two-year absence. But in an unusual double-dip, they may also be in a Rookie of the Year race for the first time in a decade, since O.J. Mayo finished second to Derrick Rose in 2009.

Marc Gasol made four three-pointers on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis and each one extended the Grizzlies’ lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves from single to double digits. Gasol added three blocks and drew a key late charge on opposing center Karl-Anthony Towns as the Grizzlies beat the Timberwolves 100-87 to improve to 10-5 and into a three-way tie for third place in the Western Conference.

Let posterity note that rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. set a new career scoring high with an alley-oop dunk that doubled as a "Whoomp! There It Is!" request, a FedExForum rite of passage that pushed the Grizzlies lead to a game-high 14 points in the third quarter of an eventual 112-104 win over head coach Dave Joerger, suited-and-booted Zach Randolph, and rest of the oh-so-familiar visiting Sacramento Kings.

Tony Allen started to hand Zamarion Boyd the Thanksgiving basket, but then, noting the size of Zamarion — who is just five — Allen reconsidered and handed the basket to Zamarion’s brother instead.

Rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. scored a season-high 27 points, Marc Gasol added 19 points and 15 rebounds, becoming Memphis' all-time leading rebounder, and the Grizzlies defeated the Sacramento Kings 112-104 on Friday night.

Every NBA season for every team meanders from fall to spring at an irregular rhythm. Some turns are hard ones (an injury, a trade), other points of departure are only seen in hindsight.

The Grizzlies are coming off a big win in Milwaukee, with an interesting, and potentially telling, stretch of games ahead.

Mike Conley scored nine points in the last 3:13 to preserve a late Grizzlies lead in Milwaukee, including a spinning fadeaway in the lane to keep the charging Bucks at bay with under 30 seconds to play.

The Grizzlies stayed undefeated on the FedExForum floor with a 112-106 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, but it took an extra five minutes to get there.

The Grizzlies weren’t just missing shots. No, they were missing so badly that a spontaneous Tony Allen conversation broke out on press row. How bad was it? The official play-by-play sheet for the early minutes of the first quarter looked like a reading of beauty pageant contestants: MISS K. Anderson, MISS M. Gasol, MISS J. Jackson, MISS G. Temple …

Dillon Brooks exited Grizzlies practice on Tuesday afternoon with a brace on his left knee and a cane in his right hand. It’s a disappointing turn in what had already been a disappointing start to the second season for the team’s unexpected break-out rookie of last season.

Asked about the Grizzlies’ health going into tonight’s game vs. the Utah Jazz, coach J.B. Bickerstaff didn’t talk around it.

Joe Ingles scored 19 points, Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 16 rebounds and the Utah Jazz won their third straight, 96-88 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

 Mike Conley scored a season-high 32 points, including 21 after halftime, as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers 112-106 in overtime on Saturday night.

The Grizzlies had forced the Denver Nuggets into another throwback NBA game where defense matters and had emerged on the other side with an 89-87 victory, a score that must have had people around the league doing a double-take:

Ten games does not a season make, but it’s close enough to draw some preliminary conclusions. The Grizzlies have played four games at home and six on the road. Record-wise, they’ve played two of the league’s three best teams (Warriors, Nuggets) and three games against two of the league’s three worst (Suns, Wizards). What do we think we know so far? Here’s an annual taking of the temperature, now at a new home. Ten takes after ten games.

After losing both halves of a road back-to-back, what will home-cooking mean for the Grizzlies big two? I mean Shelvin Mack and Dillon Brooks, of course.

Winning big is fun, but winning close is better. The building back-and-forth tension is a richer, deeper experience, creating the kind of basketball games that keep you up, sifting through the string of moments lingering in your mind. These games seem longer, in a good way, because all 48 minutes matter.

Marc Gasol scored 20 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining, to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to an 89-87 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.