The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Grizz vs. 76ers Recap

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Carmen Patton

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The Philadelphia 76ers came to Memphis to face the Grizzlies on Sunday with a 0-17 record. Their record, however, should not be used as an indicator of their effort. As a matter of fact, in their last four losses prior to coming to Memphis, the 76ers had lost by 16 points total. That’s right they lost by 16 points TOTAL in the last 4 games before coming to Memphis. They’re getting close to victories, but almost never counted. The Grizzlies came into Sunday night’s game after a tough 15 point loss to the Atlanta Hawks at home on Friday with a 9-8 record. The loss to the Hawks broke the Grizzlies 4 game winning streak at home. So, they were looking to get the streak started again against the 76ers. The Grizzlies were the victors Sunday night against the 76ers, but the 92-84 victory didn’t come without challenges.

The Good:

ZBo’s Back!

Zach Randolph returned to the Memphis Grizzlies starting line-up on Sunday after missing 5 games due to knee soreness. Many were concerned about ZBo slowing down the pace of the game, as fans have seen a change in pace and style of play with Randolph out of the line-up. Randolph was 6/17 from the field in Sunday night’s game and contributed 17 points, 11 rebounds and 1 steal in 32 minutes of play. Yes, Zach Randolph can still ball.

Matt Barnes is finding his place in the Grizzlies offense.

Matt Barnes started in 3 of the 5 games that Randolph was unable to play in. Barnes is starting to find his way in the Grizzlies offense. His defense also remains on point. The reasons that the Grizzlies used to hate playing against Barnes have become the very reasons that they love having him on their roster. Barnes played just over 27 minutes off the bench with 13 points on 5/10 shooting (1/4 from 3 point range), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

The Bad:

Free Throws…

The Grizzlies shot 74% from the free throw line on Sunday night making 20 of their 27 free throw attempts. The team’s average is 84%. Shooting 74% from the charity stripe against a contender would be bad news. Luckily, it didn’t prove fateful for the Grizzlies on Sunday night.

First Half Scoring…

The Grizzlies scored only 37 points in the first half. In the first 24 minutes of Sunday night’s game, the Grizzlies scored 37 points. The 76ers scored only 31 points in the first half. The Grizzlies started off shooting 42% in the 1^st quarter while the 76ers shot just 23%. The Grizzlies ended the first half shooting 35% to the 76ers 33%.

The Ugly:

Turnovers…

With the exception of Tony Allen and Matt Barnes, every Grizzlies player that played Sunday turned the ball over 2 or more times. Allen and Barnes had zero turnovers. Vince Carter and Zach Randolph each turned the ball over twice. Jeff Green, Marc Gasol, and Mario Chalmers each turned the ball over three times. JaMychal Green and Courtney Lee turned the ball over four times each, and surprisingly, the Grizzlies floor general, Mike Conley, turned the ball over 5 times. The Grizzlies, a team that averages 13 turnovers per game, turned the ball over 26 times against the 76ers. Those 26 turnovers led to 28 points by the 76ers.

Three Point Shots…

The Grizzlies shot 4/13 from the 3 point line (31%). Team average is 32%. However, they allowed the 76ers to have 36 three point attempts on just 77 shots total. Luckily for the Grizzlies though the 76ers only hit 12 of the 36 attempts.

Sunday’s game was tough to watch at times, but luckily the Grizzlies stayed on the right side of history. While someone’s team has to lose to the 76ers at some point, it’s good to know that it wasn’t the Grizzlies on Sunday night. The Memphis Grizzlies are now 10-8, leaving them 5^th in the Western Conference, 3^rd in the Southwest Division, and 12^th in the league after one month of play in the 2015-16 season.

*Stats from nba.com and espn.com*