Grizzlies come up short against the Blazers, 100-94

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Sharon Brown

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Quick notes on Grizzlies 100-94 loss to Blazers

1. Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 21 points off of 7 of 14 shooting. Gasol also went 6-of-8 from the free throw line.

2. Mike Conley added 16 points and seven assists.

3. Zach Randolph chipped in 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

4. C.J. McCollum tied his career high of 37 points against the Grizzlies. McCollum went 6-of-12 from the three points line.

5. Tony Allen scored 11 points (season-high), seven rebounds and a game-high four steals.

Stats of the Game:

Field Goal Percentage: Grizzlies 38.3 percent (31/81), Blazers 45.1 percent (32/71).

Rebounds: Grizzlies 44 (12 OREB), Blazers 37 (5 OREB)

Points in the Paint: Grizzlies 30, Blazers 24

Fast Break Points: Grizzlies 10, Blazers 12

Three Point Field Goals: Grizzlies 23.1 percent (6/26), Blazers 42.4 percent (14/33)

Bench Points: Grizzlies 41, Blazers 11

Assists: Grizzlies 15, Blazers 19

Steals: Grizzlies 9, Blazers 7

Takeaways

Chandler Parsons made his highly anticipated season debut for the Grizzlies. Parsons went 0-of-8 from the field in 22 minutes of play. He grabbed three rebounds and had a block. His performance should not be an indictment on his signing. He has to get his rhythm back and he will be fine.

Marc Gasol had a better shooting performance after he had stinkers against the Pelicans and the Clippers. He is getting back into rhythm.

Zach Randolph must finish games where he is shooting the ball well. He should have been on the court in the waning minutes of the game. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice his defensively liability in certain situations when his offense is needed. Especially on an afternoon when he is 6-of-11 from the field. Zbo also had the best +/- for the Grizzlies with a +7.

It’s not time to panic. Yes, the Grizzlies are below .500 (3-4). They still have time to right the wrongs. They have 75 games left to get better.

Quotables

GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH DAVID FIZDALE

On the game:

“Well, we can’t seem to find a level of consistent play throughout the game and that’s really hurting us right now. We played great in stretches, we got up 10 there, and then I don’t know. We put on our cool coats and started throwing the ball all over the gym, taking random shots out of the offense, not getting back, defensive breakdowns all over the place. We’re going under pick-and-rolls on two of the greatest shooters in the NBA. That tells you right there that our brains were gone. We’re fighting for consistency right now. I see some great things out of this team right now, and I see some horrible lows out of this team, and we’ve just got to keep working until we get a high level of consistent play.”

On trying to find the right combination of players on the court:

“Just being challenged first game, and actually Tony (Allen) not being with us that long, we’re still fighting for chemistry and the right combinations. James Ennis is used to starting and now he goes to the bench. He has to come off the bench and make that adjustment mentally. That’s going to be a battle for us right now, and as we work Chandler (Parsons) back in, and getting Tony where he feels comfortable with everything we’re doing, it’s also for them getting game conditioning. I think a lot of our mistakes came out of fatigue and mental breakdowns out of fatigue. These are the circumstances. These guys are coming back late and we’ve got to figure out how to build chemistry quickly.”

On Chandler Parsons:

“I expected him to be rusty. I mean, the guy hasn’t played in I don’t know how long. Obviously his nerves are going like crazy, his adrenaline is going through the roof, and he hasn’t been in one war with these guys yet, so I expected a lot of rust. He’ll get better as he gets more in tune with his teammates and he gets in game shape, I expect him to be just fine.”

On finding consistency with limited practice time:

“We’ve just got to make the most out of the time we get together. You know, practice as much as we can under the circumstances. Shootarounds are important to use that almost as a mini practice, and then in the game we must do our job and be reliable to just doing our job. No more, no less. Right now we’ve got guys that get outside of themselves for whatever reason and try to will it, or shut down mentally for whatever reasons, thinking that one possession isn’t the difference. We just need to get to a consistent point of playing every possession like it’s the last one.”

On Zach Randolph:

“I absolutely thought about going to Z-Bo (Zach Randolph). Obviously I’ve got to do an offensive/defensive thing when it comes to that, because they hunt for Z-Bo on the pick-and-roll. Late in the game, with those kinds of guards, I don’t want to put Z-Bo in that position, especially once we got down to try and defend those guards and pick-and-rolls late in the game. I have to find spots for him where I can put him in the right circumstances. I definitely thought about it, but we needed some stops and we just weren’t coming up with them.”

GRIZZLIES CENTER MARC GASOL

On moving parts to start the season:

“It doesn’t matter what happens. You got to play. You got to do your job. If you don’t do your job, someone else is going to step in and do your job that is there to be done. That’s it. Everybody has to play their part and that’s going to take care of a lot of stuff.”

On lack of consistency:

“Keep working. Keep working. Keep helping the guy next to you. Keep grinding it out. That’s the only way we know how to do things.”

GRIZZLIES FORWARD CHANDLER PARSONS

On frustration of the game:

“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty. Obviously, that’s not how you want to come out here and play for the first time. It was honestly to be expected. I have done this before was coming back from a surgery and struggled the first couple games. Honestly, it was just fun to be out there. Obviously, I don’t plan on shooting that poorly very often but just to be back out there and doing what I love is special for me. I just got to get back in the gym and correct some things and get in better shape because everything kind of felt fast. Once we were going up and down a bit, my shot got a little flat. I got decent looks but you can’t really simulate game speed unless you’re playing so it was good to get back out there.”