With a final score of 115-113 in overtime, the Grizzlies’ woes continued, as they dropped yet another winnable game to the Portland Trail Blazers and moved to 0-6 to start the season.
We are watching the second-worst season-start in franchise history. Memphis hasn’t lost this many games in a row to begin a season since 2002-2003, when they opened 0-13.
The Grizzlies are presently the lone winless team in the league. Friday night’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers also marked their first game in the league’s new in-season tournament.
So far this season, the Grizzlies haven’t put together a complete game of winning basketball for 48 minutes, not even last night, when they had five additional minutes to achieve it.
Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. continue to lead the team offensively. But the defensive struggles are concerning, with Memphis allowing opponents to shoot 41.4% from three-point range, and 46.7% overall.
Friday night, the Grizzlies gave up 28 points off 17 turnovers, while capitalizing on Portland’s 14 turnovers with a mere 16 points.
Memphis shot 9-of-13 from the free throw line compared to Portland’s 28-of-36. The free throw disparity of -23 reflects the ongoing struggle this team has faced getting to the free throw line this season. They are averaging 19.7 free throw attempts per game while their opponents are averaging 24.3 attempts. In six games, Memphis has attempted 118 free throws while their opponents have attempted 146.
Bane had a game-high 33 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks, and Jackson Jr. closed out the night with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks, putting up his first double-double of the season.
David Roddy made an appearance in the starting lineup and finished the night with a season-high 16 points.
Marcus Smart was doing too much, and I need someone to inform him that he is not in fact Ja Morant and his passing skills are not on Morant’s level. Smart finished the night with 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and a team-high 5 turnovers.
The second unit contributed an abysmal 13 points.
Something must give, and soon. There are 19 more games until the return of Ja Morant, but hopefully fans will not have to wait that long to see winning Grizzlies basketball.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies face Portland again on Sunday to cap off the three-game road trip. Tip-off is at 8 PM CST.