- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Tony Wroten got back in the game last night against Atlanta.
The Grizzlies lost their second straight game and fell to fifth in the conference standings behind the idle Denver Nuggets, but this one was a little less troubling than the home loss to Phoenix on Tuesday night, so let’s start on the bright side. A few encouraging takeaways:
Zach Randolph had 20 points and 7 rebounds on 10-18 shooting, completing a 20-10 back-to-back set that eased concerns about this ability to produce at an All-Star level.
Jerryd Bayless went 15-4-5 on 6-9 shooting off the bench. This is his eighth straight game in double-digits, giving more confidence that he can be counted on as a legitimate sixth man and can make up some of the scoring lost with the Rudy Gay deal.
Tony Wroten and Ed Davis — the team’s two most athletic and high-upside young players, both of whom Lionel Hollins seems reluctant to give consistent rotation minutes — got in the game and both produced in their limited time. Davis took — and made — only one shot in his nine minutes, but also snatched 6 rebounds and had a block. Wroten, as has typically been the case, came into the game and made plays. He hit a three (!). He moved off the ball for a lay-up. He dropped three dimes and added a block of his own in nine minutes. Davis and Wroten were the only players to garner multiple minutes and have a positive plus/minus.
But that was outweighed by the bad:
