Author: Sharon Brown

Sharon Brown is a University of Memphis graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Professional Studies with a concentration in Legal Studies. Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, Sharon is one of the Memphis Grizzlies beat writers for the Memphis Flyer. She has created a niche in the industry by co-founding All Heart in Hoop City — a unique community of women sportswriters.

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Beyond the Arc Sports Sports Feature

Grizzlies Down Blazers in a Nail-Biter

(via Grizzlies Twitter)

Close games haven’t been too kind to the Grizzlies this season. Until Friday night, Memphis had lost five straight games decided by five points or less. 

Those losses have been difficult and disappointing, to say the least. It was good for the team to get that monkey off of their backs against Portland. In a pivotal win, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Trailblazers 130–128 at the Moda Center. 

With playoff implications, the Grizzlies got the job done behind Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, and Jaren Jackson, Jr. who was appearing in his second game of the season. It was the Blazers’ fourth straight loss.

With the win, the Grizzlies moved to 30–28 on the season, while the Blazers fell to 32–27. With the loss, the Blazers moved to the seventh spot in the West and fell a half-game behind Dallas, with Memphis 1.5 games behind Portland. 

An Aggressive Morant

Morant finished with 33 points, 13 assists, and five rebounds on 11 of 17 shooting with zero turnovers, and he was aggressive from the start. During the post-game media availability, Morant explained why he has been attacking early: “I just got to be more aggressive”, he said. “Whether it’s attacking downhill to help find my teammates or for me to score. I feel like some of these games when we start out slow is my fault. Since I’m the point guard, I gotta push the pace.”

Morant set another franchise milestone with his performance

Dillon the Menace

Brooks chipped in 25 points and tried his best to make it difficult for Damian Lillard. After the game, Brooks said, “I just try to tire him out and full-court him every time. (I) use a lot of physicality, give him something different a lot of players don’t give to him. Physicality and a little trash-talking making every single shot tough. Obviously, he’s a great player and he’ll score his points, but I just try to make it tough on him.” 

Welcome Back, Jaren Jackson, Jr

“I still have my minute caps so you know it’s going game by game and progressively get back to full form and I’m playing like 28 to 30 minutes a game,” Jackson said.

He added, “But for now I feel pretty good out there. There are times at the end of stretches where you’re a little tired, but I’m feeling pretty good.” 

After only playing 18 minutes in his season debut on Wednesday night against the Clippers, Jackson played 25 minutes against the Blazers and hit clutch free throws to help seal the victory. He finished the game with 23 points on 10 of 14 shooting off the bench. An impressive night for the Michigan State alum. 

Xavier Tillman Sr. was on fire from the start and chipped in 12 points on 6-8 shooting, six rebounds, and two blocks in 23 minutes. Tillman has been huge for Memphis in the absence of starting center Jonas Valanciunas. 

Up Next

The same teams will do it all over again on Sunday afternoon with the same playoff implications. Tip-off at 3:00 pm CST at the Moda Center. 

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Brooks Pulls Grizzlies Past Bulls in Chicago

Unlike the NFL, NBA teams don’t have enough time in between games to focus on hard losses. They have to get their mind right because other games could be only a few days away. 

After an excruciating loss to the Dallas Mavericks, 114-113, on Wednesday night, the Grizzlies had to put it behind them and focus on a brutal seven-game road trip ahead of them. First up was the Chicago Bulls. 

Memphis was up for the task by beating the Bulls 126-115 Friday night at the United Center. 

“It’s always good to start a road trip off with a win,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said after the game. “Beating a team twice in one week is never easy. They gave us a great test and I’m glad we came out on top, for sure. We had a lot of growth from the first half to the second half.”

Dillon Brooks led the way for Memphis by putting up a season-high 32 points off of 12 of 19 shooting while connecting on 4 of 7 three-pointers. It was an incredibly efficient night for the Oregon Ducks alum.

Jonas Valančiūnas added 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Ja Morant chipped in 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists as Memphis moves to 28-26 on the season. 

As Brandon Clarke sat out due to hip soreness, rookie Xavier Tillman, Sr. made his mark off the bench for the Grizzlies. Tillman ended with 14 points, two rebounds, two steals, and a block in 16 minutes of play. 

Tillman during post-game media availability:

The Bulls’ leading-scorer Zach LaVine was out due to health and safety protocols. Coby White replaced LaVine in the starting lineup. In his first start since March 14th, White led the Bulls with 27 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.

Nikola Vučević finished with 24 points, 14 rebounds, six assists to secure his 37th double-double on the season. Memphis native Thaddeus Young chipped in 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists. The Bulls have lost five in a row and fell to 22-33 on the season. 

Up Next:

The Grizzlies head to Milwaukee for game two of their seven-game road trip to take on the Bucks. Tip-off starts at 8 p.m. CT.

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Beyond the Arc Sports Sports Feature

Pacers Too Much For Grizzlies Sunday Night

Dribbles on Grizzlies’ 132-125 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

1) Coach Taylor Jenkins on the loss, “We had a terrible start to the game. Very unacceptable on our part. Not reflective of who we are. So we’ve got to get better there. Great fight for the majority of the game, winning the last three quarters, but you can’t come up 40-plus points in the first quarter and dig yourself out of that hole.”

Jenkins added, “And then, a bad ending where multiple offensive rebounds, you have a chance to win a ballgame. Those were losing plays. You can’t have those.”

2) Jonas Valanciunas finished with his 38th double-double with a career tying 34 points, 22 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.

3) Memphis set single-game franchise records with 88 points in the paint and 30 second-chance points in the loss.

4) Known Griz killer Caris LeVert led the Pacers with 34 points off of 14-20 from the field, as the Pacers improved to 25-27 on the season.

5)  Malcolm Brogdon had his way with the Grizzlies with a near triple-double, finishing with 29 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds while shooting 10 of 21 from the field.

6) Indiana shot 13-37 from the 3-point line while holding Memphis to 6-20 from beyond the arc.

7) Ja Morant added 23 points and six assists as the Grizzlies fell to 26-25 on the season.

Morant said after the game, “Nobody likes to lose, especially when you are a possession away from the game. We need to be mad at our effort at the beginning of the game. We started off slow. We allowed them to score 40-something points in the first quarter.”

Morant continued, “I feel like that is unacceptable, and we have to be better in that area, on defense. The positive side is that I am proud of our fight to move on to the next play and to be in the position to still win the game.”

8) Domantis Sabonis also had a near triple-double for the Pacers with 18 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists.

Up Next

The Grizzlies will host the  Chicago Bulls on Monday night at FedExForum at 8 pm CT.

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Beyond the Arc Sports Sports Feature

Dillon Brooks Helps Grizzlies Cool the Heat

Dillon Brooks against Miami Heat (via Grizzlies Twitter)

The Grizzlies had a remarkable offensive night on Tuesday against a stingy Heat defense, shooting 55 percent from the field and 42 percent (17-41) from the 3-point line. 

In the 124-112 road win over Miami, Memphis recorded 30 assists. The Grizzlies are now 14-1 this season when dishing out 30 or more assists. Memphis took the season series 2-0 against Miami, with both victories ending a Heat win streak. 

Dillon Brooks scored 23 of his 28 points in the third quarter. It is the second-highest single-quarter scoring output in franchise history behind Jaren Jackson Jr.’s 26-point 3rd quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks on December 13th, 2019. 

Brooks had called out his former teammate Andre Iguodala, who didn’t want to play for the Grizzlies, before he was eventually traded to the Miami Heat last season. Before the trade, Brooks said, “I can’t wait until we find a way to trade him so we can play him and show him what Memphis is really about.” On Tuesday night, Brooks did just that. 

Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points and 10 rebounds to register his 35th double-double of the season. He also extended his double-figure rebounding streak to 17.

Kyle Anderson added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Grizzlies improved to 25-23 on the season after their third straight victory. 

In the absence of De’Anthony Melton, Brandon Clarke, and Justise Winslow, Desmond Bane (15), and Xavier Tillman, Sr. (11) provided a spark off the Grizzlies bench.

Jimmy Butler put up 28 points to lead the Heat, while Bam Adebayo finished his second triple-double of the season and fifth of his career with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The Heat fell to 26-25 on the season.

Up Next

The Grizzlies head to Atlanta to take on the Hawks on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Central at State Farm Arena.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Strong Second Half Lifts Grizzlies Over Timberwolves

Grayson Allen and Ja Morant via Grizzlies Twitter

With a win 120-108 win at FedExForum over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Grizzlies are back at .500 (23-23) for the season. After just leading by two at the half, Memphis outscored the Wolves by 10 points in the second half.

“It’s a good team win for us,” said Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones during media availability. “Everyone [was] contributing, everyone [was] playing really well, especially off the bench. That’s how we want to play and contribute to the game. That was good for us. It was a good team win from top to bottom. We’re happy with it.”

Game notes

1. Memphis moved to 12-14 at home this season. Memphis shot 48 percent from beyond the arc after going 19 of 39. Nine different Grizzlies players made a 3-point shot. 

2. Jonas Valanciunas led the Grizzlies with 19 points and 11 rebounds to record his 32nd double-double of the season. Valanciunas has had a double-double in nine straight games. 

3. Grayson Allen finished with 15 points while going 5-of-7 from the three-point line. It was the fifth time this season in which Allen converted on five or more three-point shots. 

4. The Grizzlies bench outscored the Timberwolves’ reserves 56-38. Memphis’ second unit had four players in double figures while Minnesota only one player in double figures off the bench. 

With 39.8 points per game, Memphis entered the night ranked third in the NBA in bench points, first in bench steals with 4.5, second in bench assists at 10.0, and fourth in bench 3-point percentage at nearly 40 percent. 

De’Anthony Melton had a solid night to lead the bench for Memphis. Mr. Do Something finished with 14 points (4-of-6 3P), four rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 24 minutes. Xavier Tillman chipped in 12 points and four rebounds. Brandon Clarke and Jones added 11 points each. 

5. The Wolves had three players in double figures. Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 30 points and 16 rebounds. Rookie sensation Anthony Edwards added 22 points and six assists. As a reserve, Naz Reid chipped in 18 points and 5 rebounds as the Wolves dropped to 12-37 on the season. 

 Up Next

The Grizzlies head out for a four-game road trip starting Sunday to take on the Philadelphia 76ers.

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Beyond the Arc Sports Uncategorized

Jazz Give Memphis the Blues

Grizzlies Twitter

Quick dribbles on the Grizzlies’ 110-126 loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

1) Donovan Mitchell was aggressive from the start. He finished with 35 points and seven assists off of 12 of 17 shooting.

2) Utah held Memphis to 40 percent from the field and 27 percent from three. Meanwhile, the Jazz shot 50 percent from the field and connected on 19 three-pointers at 42 percent.

3) Kyle Anderson led the Grizzlies with 16 points off of 6 of 12 shooting, and added four assists and two steals.

4) Jonas Valanciunas tallied his 30th double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Grizzlies dropped a game under .500 at 21-22 on the season.

5) Jordan Clarkson continues to make his case for Sixth Man of the Year. As a reserve, the Missouri alum finished with 28 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Jazz.

6) Ja Morant couldn’t capitalize after his 32 points and 11 assists on Friday night against the Jazz. On Saturday, Utah kept Morant in check most of the night. He ended with only 12 points and four assists.

7) With the win Utah moved to 34-11 on the season to maintain the league’s best record. The Jazz have won 19 consecutive home games.

8) Morant is still a human highlight reel. This dunking was jaw dropping.

9) The Grizzlies will head to Houston to face the Rockets on Monday inside the Toyota Center at 7pm CT.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Rally Past Thunder to Win Three Straight

The Grizzlies have won three straight games after defeating the Thunder 116-107 Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

It took a massive third period for Memphis to take control of the game for good. Grizzlies outscored the Thunder 33-20 in that period — after giving up four straight turnovers.

Dillion Brooks led the way for Memphis with 25 points off 8 of 13 from the field and 8 of 9 at the charity stripe. The Grizzlies improved to 9-4 when Brooks scores 20 points or more this season.

Grayson Allen added 20 points and five rebounds. Allen shot 8 of 14 from the field and 4 of 9 from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 16 points and 15 rebounds to tally his 28th double double of the season as the Grizzlies improve to 21-20 for the year.

Off the bench, Brandon Clarke chipped in a near double-double with eight points and nine rebounds. Clarke was huge defensively with a career high five blocks plus two steals. Clarke became the third Grizzlies reserve in franchise history behind Stromile Swift and James Johnson to record 2+ steals and 5+ blocks.

Mr. Do Something, De’Anthony Melton finished with 14 points while shooting 4 of 6 three-pointer as a reserve.

The Thunder had seven players in double figures. Moses Brown led OKC with 19 points and 12 rebounds as a reserve. Lu Dort finished with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists as the Thunder fall to 19-25 for the season.

Up Next

The Grizzlies play back to back against the Jazz in Utah, Friday and Saturday night.

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Beyond the Arc Sports Uncategorized

Grit ‘n Grind Returns to Memphis

Grizzlies Twitter

For one night only, the Grit ‘n Grind Grizzlies made an appearance at the FedExForum on Wednesday with a 89-85 win against the Miami Heat.

When asked if it gave him pride to win in an old school style, Ja Morant said with a smile, “Hell yeah. Simple as that.”

Miami shot just 36 percent of its shots while Memphis only went 35.3 percent from the field. This was definitely a mud game. Grizzlies fans remember those so well.

After the game Taylor Jenkins said of the win, “This was probably one of the gutsiest wins I can recall in my time here, definitely this season. This was a heck of a game.”

Jenkins added, “To come away 89-85 and hold them to mid-30’s shooting, limiting some of their best players, I give our guys a lot of credit to just stick with it. That’s why it’s gutsy.”

The last time the Grizzlies and their opponents scored under 90 points was on Nov. 7, 2018 when Memphis defeated Denver 89-87.

Memphis managed to get their defensive mojo back after the last two opponents were lights-out with the three-ball. The Grizzlies’ defense had been nonexistent in consecutive games, giving up a combined 28 three-pointers in the last two losses against Oklahoma City and Phoenix.

With 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation, Morant went coast to coast and finished with a driving left handed finger roll layup off the backboard to give the Grizzlies the lead for good.

“Go get a bucket, simple as that,” Morant said in the postgame interview with Rob Fischer about his game winning bucket. “I live for those moments and I want that pressure.

During the postgame Zoom availability, Morant proclaimed, “When in doubt, ‘Call 12.'”

The Grizzlies star guard finished the game with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds in 36 minutes of action. Kyle Anderson also chipped in 13 points and five rebounds while going 4 of 9 from the field.

In 23 minutes off the bench, De’Anthony Melton secured a double-double with 13 points, a career-high 10 rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

“Coach (Taylor Jenkins) said before the game that we were going to go with a smaller lineup,” Melton stated after the game. “He wanted all of the guards to get in there and rebound and scrap. I think that’s what we emphasized today, just limiting them to one or two shots and just getting out and running. We’re one of the better pace teams, so we just want to get out there and just keep going and keep attacking them to see how they react to that.”

With the win, Memphis moved to 18-19 on the season after dropping three straight games.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 24 points and seven rebounds. Bam Adebayo had 15 points (5-11 FG), 12 rebounds, six assists, and one steal in 35 minutes as the Suns dropped to 22-19 for the season.

Memphis’ own Precious Achiuwa made his first appearance at the FedExForum since being drafted by the Heat in 2020. Achiuwa finished with two points and five rebounds in 10 minutes of play as a reserve.

Up Next

The Grizzlies will host a back-to-back home-stand against the Golden State Warriors on Friday and Saturday.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Ja Morant Featured in New BodyArmor Campaign

CREDIT: BODYARMOR

BODYARMOR EDGE has announced a new ad campaign for its sports hydration drink, “GET YOUR EDGE,” that features athlete partners and investors Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.

“Ja Morant and Kyler Murray are two of the most exciting athletes in sports and embody the intense, aggressive, hard-working mentality of BODYARMOR EDGE,” said Michael Fedele, VP at BODYARMOR, in a release on Tuesday morning. “Working with both rising superstars was an absolute blast, and we can’t wait for fans and consumers to give BODYARMOR EDGE a try.”

In the announcement, Morant said, “BODYARMOR EDGE is unlike anything out on the market today. So, it’s exciting for me to play a key role in the first-ever ad campaign with Kyler and see firsthand how BODYARMOR is continuing to transform the hydration game.”

BODYARMOR

The Murray State alum is averaging 18.4 points and 7.7 assists per game in 30 minutes of action this season. He spoke with the Flyer to discuss a wide range of topics, including the BODYARMOR ad campaign, his love for the Memphis community, Grizzlies culture, the return of Justise Winslow, the importance of women in sports, and more.

Tell me about your new campaign with BODYARMOR. What was it like filming the commercial?
Morant: It was big-time. That was actually my first time being part of a big special group and actually doing something like that. I’m just thrilled to be a part of the first-ever ad campaign for BODYARMOR EDGE. I’m a big fan of it, and it gives me the energy on and off the court whenever I need it.


Ja Morant Featured in New BodyArmor Campaign

Why is it important to you to give back to your community?
As for me, it just shows where you come from, and I’m a big family person. I love giving back to wherever I’m from and wherever I’m at. Since I’ve been in Memphis, everybody’s been showing me love and treated me like family. So it’s only right to show my love back to the community.

There’s been a lot of talk about the Grizzlies culture and having good locker room guys. Since arriving in Memphis, what do you think about the culture and how you’ve fit in with it?
I’m used to it. But as far as locker room guys, I feel like we have a great group of guys. No matter who it is, if it’s somebody new or not, we allow them to be themselves. We’re all around each other  — we are always laughing and joking. But we also know when it’s time to be serious and lock into whatever we have to do.

How happy are you to have Justise Winslow on the court after his long, hard struggle to return from injury?
Justise is a special player. He can defend multiple positions and play multiple positions on offense — another guy who can make plays for himself and for the team. When you have so many guys who can do that and guys who are unselfish, it helps our team, and it eventually shows up in the assist column.

Why is it important for you to support women in sports, from the female athletes, the female coaches to the female executives and female reporters?
Women don’t receive as much respect or attention as they should. Women are a big part of our world today. To achieve things like being a woman coach in the NBA or anything like that, that’s a special honor and a big deal for women. As far as for me, to show my love and appreciation for them ,  I will continue to do it. Hopefully, to have everyone else realize how special women are.

In your first year, you took the league by storm and immediately impacted your team and won Rookie of the Year. How much do you feel you’ve improved from your first year in the NBA to now. And how has Taylor Jenkins and his coaching staff helped you become a better player?
I feel like I have become a lot better.  The game is actually slowing down a little bit for me when I’m out there. So I’m starting to see things before they happen. And I feel like that helps our team and puts us in good positions at all times. As far as our coaching staff and how they help me, they are always there when I need them; if I have questions, they always sit down with me and watch film and constantly talk about how I can get better and how we can get better as a team. 

What does success look like for you this season?
Success for me this season would be for me to be better than last season, for sure. I think that’s the number one thing —  continue to show my growth. But as far as a team, I feel like making the playoffs would definitely be a successful season for us.

I’ve heard you say that you want your teammates to hold you accountable; where does accountability fit into the aspects of being a good leader?
I have to bring it each and every day. I can’t have days where I’m going through the motions. If I ever have a day like that, I would expect my teammates to speak up and let me know to lock in, whether it’s in practice or a game.

Lastly, you don’t have to answer these if you don’t want to. Will you participate in the dunk contest? Do you think you should have been chosen as an All-Star reserve?
No, I will not be in the dunk contest. It’s God’s timing on the All-Star game for me. So I will continue to work and get better.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Houston Had a Problem Against Memphis Sunday Night

CREDIT: NBA.com

Justise Winslow found his groove on Sunday night against the Houston Rockets by going 4-of-4 from the field early on. In just his fourth game back after a lengthy absence, Winslow led the Grizzlies with 20 points and two blocks off the bench in a decisive victory over the Rockets 133–84. This is the first time Winslow scored 20 or more points since October of 2019 while a member of the Miami Heat. An emotional Winslow spoke after the game:

Houston Had a Problem Against Memphis Sunday Night

Houston Had a Problem Against Memphis Sunday Night (3)

Brandon Clarke notched his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 7-of-9 from the field.

De’Anthony Melton finished with 14 points, five assists, and four steals. Tyus Jones had a complete game with 13 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. The Grizzlies had a season-high 16 steals and 56 rebounds.

Desmond Bane had 15 points, seven rebounds, and three steals with a +38 +/- net rating to help the Grizzlies move to 15–15 on the season in his fourth career start. Bane even had a nasty highlight dunk. 

Houston Had a Problem Against Memphis Sunday Night (2)

Very impressive victory by our group,” Taylor Jenkins said after the game. A very impressive victory, indeed. 

The Grizzlies bench set a franchise record with 85 points by outscoring the entire Rockets team. Memphis also set a franchise record with the largest margin of victory with the 49 point smashing while handing Houston its 11th straight loss. Memphis held the Rockets to a franchise-low 27.7 percent from the field and 4-for-45 on 3-pointers.

Next Up:

The Grizzlies will take on Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, March 2, at the Capital One Arena. Tip-off is set at 6 p.m. CT.