Ja Morant turned in one of his best games of the season, but it wasn’t enough to give the Grizzlies a chance to beat Cleveland Friday night, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. Even though the star guard posted 44 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, the Cavaliers extended their win streak to 16 games with a convincing 133-124 victory.
“We didn’t come out with the right mindset,” Desmond Bane said. “We messed up some coverages early in the game and allowed them to get comfortable. When a good team like that gets comfortable, it’s going to be a long night.”
Losing to elite teams has been a frequent problem for the Grizzlies, Guillory notes, despite the fact that they’re 42-25 and entered Friday’s game second in the West. They’re just 1-5 in the six games they’ve played against Cleveland, Boston and Oklahoma City, and they’ve trailed by at least 20 points in four of the five losses.
“They’re good teams. They’re on a roll,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “We’ve just got to be better defensively in those situations. We can’t make excuses about anything, even when we’re not shooting well. We’ve got to be able to guard.”
There’s more from Memphis:
- The Grizzlies have been starting rookies Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey for much of the season, but coach Taylor Jenkins has been reducing their playing time lately, Guillory adds. Wells was limited to 17 minutes Friday night and Edey played 11 as the Cavs became the latest team to target them both on defense and offense. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Brandon Clarke provided strong minutes off the bench, but Guillory states that Jenkins is still searching for effective combinations to go alongside Morant, Bane and Jackson.
- Morant is missing Saturday’s game against Miami due to soreness in his right shoulder, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter). Vince Williams Jr. is also being held out because of pain in his right ankle.
- Tonight marks the jersey retirement ceremony for Grizzlies legend Tony Allen, who played in Memphis from 2010-17. Known as “The Grindfather,” Allen embodied the “Grit ‘n’ Grind” spirit of the teams from that era. Longtime teammate Mike Conley couldn’t attend because of his duties with the Timberwolves, but he sent a video message, tweets Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. “We embraced it. It became our identity,” Conley said. “I’m not the loudest person or most physical person in the world, but I felt like I was when I was out there with Tony and Marc (Gasol) and Zach (Randolph). Together we were like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna beat you up.’ That’s just who we felt like we were, and it kind of started with that phrase and the personnel behind it because we didn’t just say it, we actually believed it and acted on that. And nobody could tell us different.”
The Grizz are still in that young overachieving phase…
Might be just the mentality of their star PG holding then back… When he matures they might be more of a threat… His reckless play is already having him say he’s playing differently however…
Once he figures out how to plan his landings and mature in his approach to the game the Grizz maybe more of a threat…
They need veterans on the bench. Not one veteran in Memphis right now. Perfect roster otherwise.
Should have traded Konchar and Bagley for a large expiring contract, waive that contract and sign two veterans to babysit
Kennard and JJJ aren’t veterans?
JJJ at 25 haha no
Yep. Said as much 2 seasons ago.
Exactly.
I like Grizz team and Ja. But I agree he does need to mature and lead. Team does too. Like Cavs who are still growing. You hope to see Grizz better in playoffs. Still a dangerous team in first two rounds.
They need veterans on the bench. Not one veteran in Memphis right now. Perfect roster otherwise.
Should have traded Konchar and Bagley for a large expiring contract, waive that contract and sign two veterans to babysit
How many years does a player need to be a “veteran”. according to you?
I really enjoy professional basketball teams that bring a lunchbox and punch a time card. It’s refreshing to watch 90’s clips and see lainbeer and Mahorn earn their paychecks. If they used the rules from when men played the game, we would have a vastly superior product on tv.
If Morant waved a gun around at Gasol or Zach, he’d get a real beatdown. New squad will never be as good as the last time they were decent.