Quick Recap: Grizzlies go cold against Blazers’ hot shooting

Feb 2, 2023 - 3:00 AM

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The Memphis Grizzlies looked to build a winning streak as the Portland Trail Blazers came to town. Desmond Bane returned to the lineup, and Danny Green made his long-awaited Grizzlies debut.

The Grizzlies started fast out the gates with a 17-5 run. As clear through the NBA, the Blazers narrowed the gap slightly. Ja Morant inserted himself into “triple double watch” with 11 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds in the opening period. They also got great bench production between Xavier Tillman and Brandon Clarke. Tillman, who got the starting nod for the Nurkic matchup, provided great hustle and energy early — hauling in 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Clarke came in with pop off the bench with 8 quick points. They closed the 1st quarter with a 32-26 lead.

Danny Green made his Grizzlies debut in the 2nd quarter, and it was a time to get his feet under him. He fired 4 three-point attempts — airballed 2 of them, and drained 1 of them. Portland kept it close in the period with free throw shooting, as the Grizzlies had both Clarke and Bane tally 3 fouls in the 2nd quarter. The Grizzlies led 57-52 at halftime/.

The 3rd quarter was a spectacle between Ja Morant and Damian Lillard — as the Grizzlies guard scored 16 points to start the half, and the Blazers guard had 17 points. They were trading buckets back-and-forth with an array of dribble combos. The Grizzlies did start the half out well, but Lillard had a 7-point possession with a 3 on a flagrant foul, then another 3.

The Grizzlies fell victim to the brilliant shot-making between Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons, as they both exploded in route to a 38-point quarter. The Grizzlies offense went cold, only scoring 22 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. found a groove early in the quarter, but he didn’t get the ball enough down the stretch. For the icing on the cake for Portland, Drew Eubanks had a “Statue of Liberty” dunk — plus the foul — to put things out of reach for Memphis.

The Grizzlies lost 122-112, their 6th loss in the past 7 games.

Quick Takeaways

• Quick Danny Green update. There isn’t much of an update to give over someone that played 10 minutes. However, he showed quick flashes of what he could provide off the bench. It was nice to see him not afraid to crash the glass, finishing with 4 rebounds. He hit 1 of his 4 three’s, but he airballed 2 of them — not totally unexpected for a player that’s missed 8 months with a serious knee injury (has to get his legs under him!). Good first game back. Let’s see how he looks with more rust shaken off.
• 3 woes. The Grizzlies’ 3-point shooting has struggled mightily, and it continued to do so tonight — 9-37 from (24.1%). They won’t shoot this bad forever, but holy smokes it can’t turn around soon enough.
• The Grizzlies need to spice up their offense. When it comes down to winning time, it’s been “Call 12” for the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s great, because Morant is a fantastic scorer, but it becomes predictable and one-dimension. It also minimizes the impact of his 2 co-stars, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. Bane is one of the best shooters in the world with the capability of leveraging his shooting gravity into advantage opportunities with off-the-dribble scoring or playmaking. Jackson is often a walking mismatch — and he had the most perfect one in a Nurkic/Grant-less Blazers for the majority of the game — and he can also shoot 3’s. Taylor Jenkins needs to capitalize on these strengths to diversify the offense and avoid stagnation late in games (22 points in the 4th quarter). It’s a learning opportunity ahead of the playoffs.

The Grizzlies will face off the Cavaliers in Cleveland tomorrow night at 6:30 CST on TNT.

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