There were encouraging moments for the Grizzlies last night in Portland. Despite 1-4 shooting, Gilbert Arenas looked promising in a 12-minute debut stint. He looked good physically all things considered, was active defensively (2 steals), and made plays, especially in the pick and roll (his three assists were augmented by a couple of feeds — both to Marc Gasol I think — for lay-up attempts that drew fouls). Zach Randolph did some Zach Randolph stuff in the first half. Despite my ongoing concerns about fatigue, Marc Gasol was sharp offensively (a team-high 22 points and 3 assists on 8-13 shooting). And Tony Allen’s effectiveness (17 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds) was rewarded with full starter minutes (34), though he did lose his dribble and turn the ball over on a crucial late possession.
But none of that was enough. With Mike Conley (5-16 shooting, only 1 steal) and Rudy Gay (10 points on 4-10 shooting) having subpar games and the Grizzlies giving up way too many open three-pointers (Portland was 10-25 from deep), the Grizzlies lost again, their fifth loss in their past seven games and fourth to a team currently outside the playoff picture. Now the Grizzlies will play seven of their next nine on the road, mostly against playoff teams.
Clearly the Grizzlies’ chemistry is a little off with rotation changes provoked by Randolph’s return, but the biggest problem seems to be flagging defensive intensity. When the Grizzlies did built a lead against Portland in the third quarter (where they outscored the Blazers 25-17) it came from a familiarly hectic, harassing defense that turned the Blazers over and got the Grizzlies in transition. That’s this team’s identity and lately that defensive level hasn’t been on display with enough consistency.
