Wolves Attack Grizzlies Early and Win

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Carmen Patton

Share the joy

Last night, the shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies faced the Minnesota Timberwolves at FedEx Forum. After the 49 point loss to the Rockets on Monday, the depleted Grizzlies squad was looking to try to get a win at home before heading to Milwaukee to face the Bucks tonight. They didn’t succeed, however. The Timberwolves struck early and the Grizzlies trailed them for 42 of the 48 minutes of the game. The Timberwolves won 114-108. Of the 9 players available to play, only 4 have been with the team since the beginning of the season (Allen, Barnes, Green, Martin). Only one of those 4 hasn’t had to miss a game because of injury (major or minor) at all this season (Green), but his minutes didn’t become consistent until Gasol’s injury. Losing at this point in the season while teams are trying to solidify spots in the playoff standings is tough for the players and the fans.

Things aren’t all bad though. After all, the Grizzlies are still in the 5^th spot of the Western Conference. They’re still 10 games above 0.500, with 14 games left. Most importantly, the teams in the 6^th-9^th spots are taking their own losses as well, and the closest team is currently 4 games behind. Unfortunately though, the injury list doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter, and that only adds to the challenges of an already difficult end of the year schedule. Offensively, the team looks stagnant. Defensively, at times, the team looks lost. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of what happened last night.

The Good

Bench Points: The Grizzlies bench remains solid. They outscored the Wolves bench by 20 points, 42-22. Lance Stephenson alone outscored the Wolves bench with 24 points. Stephenson did play starter minutes (just under 36), but even exchanging him for Hollins who played fewer minutes (just over 24) with 12 points, the Grizzlies bench still outscores the Wolves bench by 8.

Points in the Paint: Of the Grizzlies 100 shot attempts, 60 were in the paint. They connected on 35 of them for 70 points in the paint. Wolves had 40 points in the paint (20/31).

Rebounds: The Grizzlies had 51 (27 O; 24 D) rebounds compared to the Wolves 33 (7 O; 26 D) rebounds. Grizzlies had 24 second chance points, compared to 14 by the Wolves.

Fast Break Points: The Grizzlies managed to get 15 fast break opportunities, and connected on 10 of those shots for 21 points. The Wolves had only 6, but connected on 5 of those 6 for 12 points.

The Bad

The Wolves average 101 points per game. The Grizzlies allowed them to score 114.

In their wins, the Wolves have an average FG% of 49%. Their FG% against the Grizzlies was 56%.

In their wins, the Wolves average 36% in 3PT shooting. Their 3PT% was 48% against the Grizzlies.

Defense is struggling. This is likely largely due to the fact that the team is spending just as much time to know each other as they are to know the opponent.

The Ugly

The Grizzlies took 100 shots; they connected on 44. They were 20/48 in the first half and 24/52 in the second half.

They attempted 20 three point shots, but only connected on 4 of those 20.

There were 9:35 left in the 1^st quarter the last time the Grizzlies led in the game. There were 7:52 left in the 1^st quarter the last time the Grizzlies were able to tie the game. They got down by as many as 20 points.

Offense is stagnant. Of the team’s three leading scorers (Gasol, Conley, Randolph), two are inactive due to injury (Gasol, Conley). Randolph has a sore knee, with no set return date. That is ugly.

On to the Next One:

There’s no rest for the weary, battered and bruised Grizzlies. They’ll face the Milwaukee Bucks tonight in Milwaukee. The Bucks are 29-39. They’re 5-5 in their last 10 games, and lost their last game (Toronto). The Grizzlies are also 5-5 in their last 10, but they’re on a 3 game losing streak. These teams last saw each other in Memphis on January 28, where the Grizzlies won 103-83. Though they’re hanging on by a thread, will the Grizzlies be able to get a win in Milwaukee? Tune into tonight at 7 p.m. to see. The Grind Don’t Stop…let’s Go Grizzlies!!

**Statistics from nba.com**