Grizz Get Gored in the Windy City – Grizz vs Bulls Recap

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The Grizzlies came into this game off a 112-95 victory against Washington on Monday night.  The Bulls were coming off of a 115-96 win over the 76ers also on Monday night.  It’s always fun to see Gasol vs Gasol so I was looking forward to this game.  If I had only known how it was going to turn out…

We were able to see the Gasol vs Gasol tip, with Pau Gasol winning the tip.  Courtney Lee was on fire in the 1st quarter with 13 points on 6/7 shooting (1/1 from beyond the arc) and played the entire 1st.  Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose looked like his old self, blowing past Mike Conley time after time.  Rose scored 10 on 5/7 shooting in the first alone.  Conley got worked by Rose.  In only 7:56, Conley earned a goose egg (a big fat 0 across the board) yet again.  The Grizzlies settled for jumper after jumper, a formula that was not going to work for them.  The Lee outburst was not going to be sustainable (with no help from the rest of the crew) but the Grizzlies ended the 1st shooting 52.4% from the field.  However, the Bulls ended shooting 70% in the 1st.

The Grizzlies won the 2nd quarter 27-20, but it wasn’t pretty.  Missed free throws (2 from Mario Chalmers, 3 from JaMychal Green) combined with 1/4 shooting (0/3 from beyond the arc) from Conley and 2 points from Marc Gasol on 3 shots.  The Grizz ended the 1st half shooting 48.8% from the field, 25% from beyond the arc, had 6 rebounds, and 3 turnovers.  They also went 56.3% (9/16) from the charity stripe.  The Grizz ended the 1st half on top 53-50, but the inability of the Grizzlies to guard the perimeter was glaring, with Chicago going 5/12 and the Grizz only 2/8 from 3point land.

GrizzNation braced for the dreaded 3rd quarter collapse, and unfortunately our fears were realized.  The Grizzlies had 9 turnovers which led to 14 Bulls points.  During that same time, Chicago only had 1 turnover and the Grizzlies only scored 2 points off of that turnover.  The misery continued with the Grizzlies ending the 3rd with only 13 points to the Bulls 24.  Jeff Green, Matt Barnes, Marc Gasol, and Mario Chalmers all played atleast 4 minutes and did not score.  Courtney Lee, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, and JaMychal Green together created only 13 points.  IN A QUARTER.

The 4th quarter wasn’t much better than the 3rd.  The Grizzlies had another 5 turnovers leading to 3 Bulls points.  The Grizzlies starters scored a combined 11 points.  All GrizzNation could do is watch the misery on the court unfold and wonder what has happened to this team.  The Bulls came out on top 98-85.

 

Game Notes:

*Tony Allen was a scratch, missing his third game with the knee injury.

*Questions that need answers:  Why does ESPN insist on using that snowy bear as their Grizzlies logo?  Also of note: Why do the Grizzlies seem to play terribly for nationally televised game?

*The Grizzlies seem to be allergic to guarding the 3point line which is a horrible trend they can’t seem to get away from.  The Bulls ended this game shooting 37.5%.  The Grizzlies are currently allowing opponents to shoot 37% from beyond the arc this season (6th worst in the league).

*The Grizzlies are also allergic to making shots from beyond the arc.  They currently rank 28th in the league at 31.8%

*Courtney Lee tied his season high with 18 points.  Lee went 8/11 from the field (2/2 from 3) with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals.

*Marc Gasol ended the game with 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.  In the 2nd half, Gasol shot 1/3 from the field. Yes, Gasol only shot 3 times in 2 quarters.

Grizzlies at Bulls 12-16-15

Marc Gasol – Grizzlies at Bulls 12-16-15

*Mike Conley had 8 points (3/14, 1/8 from 3), 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.  That’s right folks, our Center had more assists than our Point Guard.

Grizzlies at Bulls 12-16-15

Mike Conley – Grizzlies at Bulls 12-16-15

*The surprise of the game was Chicago Bulls Doug McDermott.  In a little over 23 minutes, McDermott had 17 points on 50% shooting, including 50% (4/8 from 3).

*Chicago’s Derrick Rose had one of his best games of the season with 19 points and 5 assists.  He flew past Mike Conley all game like he was sitting still.  This is becoming a disturbing trend this season because this didn’t used to happen to Conley.

*Zach Randolph, in his 3rd game coming off the bench, came in and just did work.  In almost 30 minutes, he had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Randolph continues to do whatever is asked of him.

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*JaMychal Green played just over 15 minutes and ended with 11 points and 2 rebounds.  The energy he shows is refreshing to watch.

*Did I mention that Chicago’s Doug McDermott (17 points) outscored both Mike Conley and Marc Gasol (a combined 16 points)?  Yeah, so that’s not conducive to winning a basketball game any way that you shake it.

*I think the story of the game is how poorly Mike Conley has played overall.  You could also say the same for the majority of this season.  Also adding to this is the way that Marc Gasol has played.  Both are down in their respective season averages.  Conley is shooting 39.8% and 33.3% from 3 this season, down from his career averages of 44.1% and 37.2% from 3.  Marc Gasol’s averages are also down this season.  He is shooting 47.2% from the field, down from his career average of 51.2%.  The Grizz go as Conley and Gasol go, and on this night, they weren’t going anywhere.

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Next Up:

Who: Grizzlies vs Mavericks

Where: American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas

When: Friday December 18th  7:30pm CST

Where to Watch/Listen: Fox Sports Southeast, 92.9 ESPN Memphis

 

*Stats via NBA.com*

Elizabeth Smith

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