These Aren’t The Grizz You’re Looking For- Recap: Grizzlies vs Hornets
Despite it being Star Wars Night at FedEx Forum, (including a sweet promotion for a Tony Allen Jedi Robe for the first 3000 fans), the Force was most decidedly not with us as your Memphis Grizzlies were soundly defeated by the Charlotte Hornets, 123-99.
The game itself got off to a promising start, with the Grizzlies coming out shooting strong and running up a 10-0 lead over the Hornets in the first five minutes of the first quarter. Memphis was making shots, and Charlotte couldn’t get a single one to fall. For a few minutes, we got to see glimpses of the Grizzlies basketball that we have all come to know and love, and as it appears, that we have all come to expect as well.
It was just enough to get the collective hopes of Grizzlies fans up, before dashing them violently against the hardwood and stomping on them a few times for good measure.
In what has become a defining theme for this season, the Grizzlies blew an early lead and then lost by double digits. Once again they struggled and suffered their way through the second half, until finally, mercifully, the last seconds ticked off the game clock. This is the antithesis of last year’s Grizzlies team, who were more often than not more aggressive on both ends of the court in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Whistle-happy refs may have had a small impact on the foul counts and free throw attempts, but it was negligible compared to the litany of other mishaps. The Hornets were able to take and make shots almost at will, and like most teams the Grizzlies play, they destroyed us from beyond the three-point line. There is no one problem or one person to point to in these kinds of losses, it seems more the case that after getting down a few too many points, the team just sort of gave up the idea of mounting any kind of comeback effort.
Coach Lord Vader is here to put you back on track.
By the numbers:
Marc Gasol- 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals.
Mike Conley- 16 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists.
Zach Randolph- 13 points, 7 rebounds.
Tony Allen- 10 points, 3 rebounds.
Courtney Lee- 12 points, 2 rebounds
Matt Barnes- 11 points, 7 rebounds
Jeff Green, JaMychal Green, and Mario Chalmers each shared an identical stat line- 6 points, 3 rebounds
Ultimately, the outcome of this and every other game falls on the collective broad shoulders of our boys in Beatle Street Blue and Coach Joerger. The degree to which each are responsible is subjective, and not something I’m willing to speculate on. However, I can assure anyone reading this that after spending some time in that post-game locker room, our players definitely know they are not playing well, and it is clearly eating at them. I can only imagine it is about as miserable for them to play as it is for us to watch.
The lack of consistent shooting from the perimeter, the massive lapses in our trademark defense, the sluggish and inefficient offense — there are a number of issues that have made themselves apparent since the start of the season. There is definitely a disturbance in the Force known as Grit and Grind, and it remains to be seen if or how it can be overcome.
All that being said, I also think it is important to remember that we still have another 3/4th of the season yet to play, and a lot can certainly change in that time. Whether or not anything will change is another matter entirely, one we can only watch and wait to see.
I’ll leave you with some words of wisdom from Master Yoda:
Doesn't bluff, stays grinding.
Bluff City Born and Memphis Made
- Memphis Grizzlies Assistant Coach Niele Ivey Named New Head Coach for Notre Dame Women’s Basketball Team - April 22, 2020
- Notes From Grizzlies Media Day 2019 - October 2, 2019
- Memphis Grizzlies 2019 Training Camp Roster - September 30, 2019
