Memphis Beats Denver: It Was Nasty for All the Wrong Reasons
Tonight the Memphis Grizzlies wrapped up their three game road trip in Denver. They defeated the Nuggets 103-96.
This game wasn’t an easy watch. There wasn’t a whole lot of grit or grind. There wasn’t any “nasty”. Frankly, it was some rather flat basketball. It certainly wasn’t what I would call overly entertaining. It was effective though. The Grizzlies had to work to get the win tonight. They had to keep chipping away. These games might be hard to watch but Memphis is walking out tonight with a win. They are walking out with another game of learning to succeed with this new roster.
The Good:
The “Let’s Go Grizzlies” chant with 25.4 left on the clock. There is nothing sweeter to my ears than a Grizzlies chant erupting during a road game. Not only that, this is a road game in Denver. Despite being injury ridden and having a difficult start to the season Grizzlies fans were in Denver tonight to cheer on the Grizzlies. That chant, loud enough to be heard on TV, made watching that game worth it!
Zach Randolph. Randolph continues to place this team on his back and carry them. He was tonight’s leading scorer with 22 points. Randolph didn’t just score. The Grizzlies’ big man finished the night with 6 assists, making the extra pass when he needed to. No matter what happens in the game knowing that the Grizzlies can feed Randolph is the one consistency we still have. I still don’t entirely know how he does what he does, but Zach Randolph can ball.
Forcing Sloppy Play. The Grizzlies scored 30 points on 20 Denver turnovers. They also shot 36 free throws tonight, making 28 of them. Memphis was able to bring physicality to the game and force Denver into some sloppy play. That sloppy play was what allowed the Grizzlies to walk away with the win tonight. Memphis gathered up extra points that kept them in the game by capitalizing on the mistakes that Denver made.
The Bad:
Mike Conley. Sure, there are spurts of great play. When he cuts into the lane and hits that nice little scoop shot he has it gives me a memory of last season’s Conley. It is discouraging to me that one of the guys we should be able to depend on continues to have low production games. Sure, he stepped up in the final stretch of the game but finishing the night 2/9 from the field with 7 points is disappointing. As the Grizzlies head into the remainder of the season Conley is going to need to consistently find his shot. His 9 assists are great for ball movement but there has to be consistent scoring too.
The Ugly:
When we pretend to be a 3-point shooting team. Sure, it’s fun to see three-pointers. They are awesome! Unfortunately for the Grizzlies they are just not really a solid part of our game. Thank goodness Memphis did enough right with their defense and earning points at the charity stripe because 3/20 from beyond the arc is usually a recipe for Grizzlies disaster. This team has got to stop falling in love with the three-point line when the shots aren’t falling. It was just plain ugly watching the Grizzlies shoot 11 three-pointers and not make a single one in the first half. Memphis finally brought the ball back inside the arc in the 4th quarter and took control of the game. They only shot two threes and made one of them. The Grizzlies shot 52.9% in the 4th quarter, compared to the 46.6% they shot in quarters 1-3. If you didn’t already guess what caused the difference, it was three-point shooting. The Grizzlies shot 11.1% (2/18) from three in quarters 1-3.
Other quick stats for your informative pleasure:
– Mario Chalmers was your leading scorer off the bench with 15 points.
– Denver out-shot the Grizzlies tonight. They were 53.3% from the field. Memphis finished the night at 48%.
– Denver out-rebounded the Grizzlies 40-27.
– Memphis finished the night with 27 assists. 6 over their season average of 21.
The Grizzlies are now headed back home to face off against the Sacremento Kings on Wednesday. Let’s hope the “Goon Squad” can give us a little more excitement in the next game!
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- Memphis at San Antonio: Grizzlies Did Not Layeth the Smacketh Down - March 25, 2017
