Well folks, here it is — the Grizzlies’ first wire-to-wire blowout of the season. The Miami Heat looked every bit like a team just one season removed from the NBA Finals, and, unfortunately, the Grizzlies looked every bit like a young team that hasn’t managed to work out all the kinks in their roster.
Let’s get into it.
The Heat opened up the first quarter shooting like fire from beyond the three-point line, at one point they were 5 for 5 from distance and closed out the quarter 7 of 10. The Grizzlies by contrast shot 2 of 6 from deep and 8 of 19 overall in the first, and it all went downhill from there.
The Grizzlies won the scoring battle in the second quarter, barely. Memphis managed to eke out more points, but it took them a lot of shots to do it.
They went into halftime down 13, a deficit they have managed to overcome in the past, even this season. But the Heat came back from the break and put their collective feet on the Grizzlies’ neck and did not let up.
When the final buzzer sounded, Miami had packed up Memphis with mostly their bench unit; in fact, three of Miami’s starters (Jimmy Butler, P.J. Tucker, and Duncan Robinson) did not play a single minute in the fourth. Jimmy Butler’s game-high 27 points all came in the first three periods.
Being outclassed by a better team is nothing to be ashamed of, but getting dragged by their second string while most of the first unit watches might be. Woof.
By the Numbers:
Ja Morant had his second lowest-scoring game of the season so far, notching a team-high 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists.
De’Anthony Melton also closed out the night with 20 points, while shooting 4 of 7 from deep.
Desmond Bane followed closely with 17 points and 5 of 10 from distance.
Kyle Anderson led the bench unit with 13 points, including 3 of 4 from beyond the three-point line.
Jaren Jackson Jr. and Steven Adams, the starting power forward and center for Memphis this season, combined for an abysmal 14 points and 8 rebounds. That the two of them couldn’t come up with a double-double between them is less than ideal, to put it mildly.
It’s only game six of the regular season, and the Grizzlies have a lot to prove in the coming months. But there is a whole lot of season left for them to prove it.
If it’s true that this team really is better than advertised, then their success last season should be easily replicated going forward. Reality is a little more complicated and, truth be told, it is far too early into the season to make any informed predictions about how the team will fare.
Ja Morant’s star continues to rise and his ceiling as a player seems to be nowhere in sight. It’s easy to forget that the electrifying young point guard is only in his third year in the league. Watching him play, with his genius-level basketball IQ and unshakeable swagger, Morant is everything that Memphis needed Mike Conley to be. It would not be a stretch to say that he’s the most talented player to ever take the court in Beale Street blue.
Jaren Jackson Jr.’s return from injury has not been the seamless transition fans hoped it would be, and the areas he struggled in before still plague him now. Without Jonas Valanciunas to carry the rebounding and offensive load, Jackson Jr. has his work cut out for him. Whether or not that is a role that the young big man can assume remains to be seen.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are staying home for a few games. Monday night they will face off against the Denver Nuggets and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. CDT.
