Recap: Grizzlies suffer blowout loss to the Nets
The Grizzlies get punched out of the gate by the Brooklyn Nets and couldn't recover -- losing 111-86.
The Memphis Grizzlies played the Brooklyn Nets last night — a fascinating matchup with dream targets and with lottery implications in this game.
It wasn’t pretty, so let’s make it brief.
The Grizzlies had a rough 1st quarter, coming out to the gates with zero energy and paid the price. The Nets started the game on a 14-5 run. The Grizzlies picked it up a little bit more towards the end of the quarter. GG Jackson had a nasty sequence where he crossed Ben Simmons over and dunked on Lonnie Walker in traffic — got to love the flashes. The Grizzlies closed the quarter down 30-18.
The Grizzlies couldn’t find their footing once again, as the Nets continued to apply pressure. The Nets burned them from 3, as the Grizzlies looked lifeless on both sides of the ball. The Nets were up 66-40 at halftime.
The Grizzlies showed signs of life with a 15-7 run to start the quarter, as the starters found good synergy on both sides of the ball. They blended solid rim pressure and outside shooting to put together a groove for a nice stretch. However, once the staggered lineups again, the sloppiness crept back into the game. The Grizzlies just looked out of sorts with their spacing and ball/player movement, allowing the Nets to fuel their offense with defense. The Grizzlies trailed 89-66 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
The 4th quarter was just a coast to the finish line. The Nets did enough to sustain their large lead, before both teams pulled their starters.
Core 4 takeaways
There was no punch. The Grizzlies got hit first in this matchup, and they couldn’t recover. The effort was fairly minimal, a disappointing scene especially at home. They will already be at a disadvantage with their injuries, and with who’s on the inactive report on a nightly basis, more often than not. However, they cannot lose in the energy department. It was an absolute Monday of a game.
Except for Lamar Stevens. Lamar Stevens showed quite a bit of fire in this game. His energy on both sides of the ball was encouraging. It showed more offensively where he seamlessly got where he wanted — he loves this little turnaround jumper in the paint, a nice blend of physicality and touch. Each game, Stevens impresses, and proves he could be a fixture in the Grizzlies’ offseason plans.
Derrick Rose’s rim pressure. Amplified in the first half, it’s still impressive how Derrick Rose can get in the paint and leverage his rim pressure into baskets or dimes, especially with his age and injury history. It’s a nice feature of a Grizzlies offense that needs playmaking and rim pressure.
Turnovers — seeing where lack of true point guard is hurting. It’s all part of the growing pains. The Grizzlies nearly had a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (16 assists to 14 turnovers). The offense seemed disorganized — the ball was recklessly flying around, and the players clunked together a bit too often with their spacing. It’s a byproduct of the team’s lack of point guard depth, as Rose is really the only natural point guard at the moment. There will be nights where everything is crisp, but in this stage of development, games like this one — from a playmaking standpoint — are just as likely.