Recap: Grizzlies tally another home loss in Dillon Brooks revenge game
The Memphis Grizzlies couldn't overcome the Dillon Brooks revenge game, as they suffered their 11th home loss of the early season.
The Memphis Grizzlies welcomed longtime Grizzly Dillon Brooks. Though it was a turbulent time at the end of an era, and his perception was rather polarizing, it was a sweet moment to see someone that poured his heart and soul into the organization return home.
Until it wasn’t.
The Grizzlies started out strong with pristine offense and sharp defensive execution, jumping out to a 29-15. Bit by bit, the Rockets chipped away at the lead before turning on the clamps in the 2nd half. The Grizzlies tried to build momentum in the 2nd half, but didn’t have enough help for Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane to come away with a win.
A Dillon Brooks dagger 3 locked up the win for the Grizzlies, as they now fall to 1-11 at home.
Side note, this home record is just sad after 2 years of being nearly unbeatable at home. Waiting and hoping for these home woes to cease, because it’s been the most demoralizing element of this slow start.
Anyways, Core 4 takeaways.
Welcome home, Dillon — a wild revenge game
Dillon Brooks made his official return to the FedExForum for his first career opponent against the Memphis Grizzlies.
It felt poetic. After all these years being the Grizzlies’ villain, it was his time to flip the page on his old team. He closes the game with a dagger to solidify a win. Just completely villain behavior.
It was an excellent two-way game from the former Grizzly. He finished with 26 points (24 in the second half) and 7 rebounds, while shooting 10-20 from the field and 3-9 from the 3-point line. He exploited the Grizzlies at the point-of-attack with his drives to the basket. He sought out shots at the rim more often than he did in his times in Memphis, cutting back on the amount of mid-range jumpers in his shot diet.
It was a blast to see him and Desmond Bane go toe-to-toe. He was checking him full court and denying how he had terrorized opponents in the past. At times, there was a case of “good defense, better offense.” It was good hoops — always, NBA refs, let competitors (and former teammates) have friendly trash talk.
The tribute video was incredible, and the reception from the Grizzlies’ fans was great. Kudos to Dillon Brooks.
Vince Williams Jr. starts next to Desmond Bane
The Memphis Grizzlies started Vince Williams Jr. next to Desmond Bane, a clear reward for his production and impact over the past few weeks. Almost immediately, he injected life onto the court early. He was flying around for steals, closeouts, and rebounds. He knocked down outside jumpers and kept the ball flowing through the offense. His presence on the court was felt, and his rest loomed just as large, because of his activity level on both sides of the floor.
Williams finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 stocks — and he shot 4-8 from the field and 3-6 from 3.
His insertion into the starting lineup should be a sign that he’s in the rotation going forward — even with Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, and Luke Kennard back in the fold. His two-way energy has just left an emphatic impact on this team, and his defensive presence gives them another good option to throw on star players.
2nd half stagnation
The Grizzlies started out the game quite well, taking a 29-14 lead into the 1st quarter. However, their lead slipped away due to stagnation into the offense.
Credit to the Rockets’ defense. They’re a feisty, physical group — a testament to its revamp led by Ime Udoka and veterans this summer. Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet are hounds at the point-of-attack. Tari Eason is an agent of chaos. Jabari Smith Jr. boasts good size, and Alperen Sengun gets his hands on the ball. They ramped up the intensity to shut the water off.
Overall though, the Grizzlies’ offense stagnated. They were struggling getting Desmond Bane clean looks, as the Rockets were blowing up screen actions to prevent him from getting the basketball. Jaren Jackson Jr. was getting doubled into the post, and either forced him into rushed buckets or passes. In the process, the Grizzlies weren’t able to get contributions to counter the defensive pressure.
(Familiar? Familiar!)
Obviously, soon the Grizzlies won’t have to deal with this much attention dedicated to Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., but hopefully they can get steadier contributions from role players.
Rotation discussion
So the rotation was a big talking point in this game, as Taylor Jenkins decided to roll with Ziaire Williams and Jake LaRavia over Xavier Tillman and John Konchar. Fans made an uproar, not surprised.
Williams and LaRavia picks haven’t panned out thus far. However, Jenkins is trying to salvage something out of this absence-riddled stretch. See if they can find some sort of groove in their development, and build some sort of confidence. I get it. “First-round draft pick” labels aside, they have the theoretical skillset needed on this team. Maybe, there’s something we’re not seeing in practices and such — part of the dynamics we don’t see. It hasn’t been good, but who knows.
With Tillman and Konchar, people want to speculate about holding them out for trades. Yeah, it’s sketchy that they’re not playing while the team is this short-handed, given they’ve been in the rotation for all 2023. I don’t buy any trade speculation with it, though.
Jenkins’ bet didn’t pay off last night, as Williams and LaRavia continued to struggled. It caused rage at the moment, but it won’t be a topic of discussion with Morant, Smart, and Kennard (likely) returning over the next 2 weeks.
The Memphis Grizzlies hit game 25 on Monday when they travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder.
Then, Ja Morant is back.
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