I’m making this short because, like everyone else, I have phony trades to concoct and most of you would rather read that than get into the weeds of an increasingly familiar loss.
The Lead: Playing without Zach Randolph (“flu-like symptoms”), the Grizzlies were plagued by poor defensive rebounding and turnovers in the first half and a cratering offense in the second half, failing to build a lead on the Blazers — their biggest: 8 — that the team’s typically woeful fourth-quarter offensive could withstand.
And oh, those woes: The Grizzlies managed only 12 fourth-quarter points in a two-point loss. Mike Conley had a great chance to take the lead in the final seconds at the end of a chaotic possession: Marc Gasol rumbled to the sideline to track down a Rudy Gay miss and go the ball to Conley at the top of the key, who was guarded by 6’7” small forward Nicholas Batum. Conley drove right, got by Batum, leaned in and bounced out to create space, and got to the rim — but couldn’t finish. A Lamarcus Aldridge free-throw and a missed desperation Rudy Gay heave later, and the Grizzlies had their fourth loss in their past six games.
Man of the Match: In Randolph’s absence, Marreese Speights got the start and did a darn good Z-Bo impression, scoring 22 points on 7-15 shooting and grabbing 13 rebounds — including 7 on the offensive end — in 27 minutes. Speights had 18 and 10 in the second half alone, keeping the team afloat as the perimeter starters were combining to shoot 1-17 (no typo).
