Tag: Trae Young

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Maul Hawks 131-113 in Epic Win

Kyle Anderson celebrates - via Grizzlies twitter

The Grizzlies dominated the Atlanta Hawks behind the power of an unlikely hero. Let’s talk about it.

Pretend this eagle is a hawk. Thank me later.

This victory over Atlanta was a group effort. The Grizzlies starting lineup combined for 101 of 131 total points scored. Every player in the starting five scored in double digits and they played some of their best basketball of the season.  

Is Grayson Allen the greatest heel in Memphis basketball history?  

Grayson Allen popped off for a career-high 30 points against Atlanta, showing perhaps that he takes the matchup between him and Trae Young to heart. 

By the Numbers 

Grayson Allen – 30 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, on 10 of 18 shooting and zero turnovers. Clearly, he remembered the previous meeting with the Hawks and that dustup with Trae Young, Atlanta’s budding star point guard. (There was some chatter via Twitter, it was a whole thing. )

Allen’s career night in the rematch was a masterful performance as he embraces the heel role. Memphis AF, y’all.  

Dillon Brooks – 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. The Villian continues to frustrate opponents on both ends of the floor.  

Ja Morant – 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Ja Morant continues to awe and amaze with his incredible court vision and high basketball IQ.

Morant sees the court in a way that us mere mortals do not, and this is evident watching him play.

When Morant isn’t contributing on the offensive end, he’s still using his skills to set up opportunities for his teammates. Feed him, and everybody eats. It is one of the many reasons why he’s the perfect leader for this franchise – you can always count on 12 to give you something.

Jonas Valanciunas – 19 points, 11 rebound, and 4 assists. JV now holds the title of player with the most consecutive double-double games in Memphis Grizzlies history, surpassing hometown favorite Zach Randolph.  

Kyle Anderson – 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Can we talk about Kyle Anderson and how freaking valuable he has been this season? I don’t know who needs to hear it but Anderson has been a top-3 player for the Grizzlies this season. He’s criminally underrated this year, and his impact on the team’s success deserves some recognition. 

Paging NBA Top Shot:  

This sequence involving Kyle Anderson and Ja Morant and the after celebration is the perfect distillation of a new era of Grizzlies basketball – flashier than grit and grind and at least as much fun. For best results, watch this on repeat. 

So good there’s already a remix on the TL: 

Who Got Next? 

Closing out a four-game road trip, the Grizzlies will be visiting the World’s Most Famous Arena Friday night to face the New York Knicks. Note the earlier than usual start – tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. CST.  

Categories
Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Fall to Hawks 122–112, Move to 0–2 to Start the Season

There are no moral victories in the NBA and this game was no exception. Yes, it was exciting to watch two dynamic young point guards face off. But much less so when it’s your team that takes the L. 

Ja Morant

In the battle between Trae Young and Ja Morant, there is no denying who came out on top. Hint: it wasn’t Ja Morant. Say what you will about the officiating (and Morant did, earning him a technical foul late in the 4th quarter) but this was still a winnable game for the Grizzlies and they blew it.


Sloppy defense, careless turnovers, and poor shot selection — once again, these cost the Grizzlies the game.

Morant had this to say postgame regarding contact in the paint: “A lot of contact down there which resulted in me being off-balance when I shoot so I missed the shot. As you see I got a tech. If that’s what I got to do to get calls, then, oh well. It’s my second year. I let a lot of stuff slide, but I’m not going for that no more. Everybody who knows me knows I’m always smiling and laughing, and when somebody gets fed up that’s what happens.”


Morant is everything Memphis needed in a player. But the past two games have clearly demonstrated that while good, he cannot carry this team by himself. And this team cannot wait for the return of Jaren Jackson Jr. to start winning games, not if they want to stay competitive in a deep Western Conference. 

This means that everyone else on the team needs to come with their A game. What we have seen on the court in the past two games was at best a C+, and that is being extremely generous. 

The absence of De’Anthony Melton was surely felt, but that alone should not be enough to derail this team. Brandon Clarke looks like a different player than he was last year. While it is too early yet to panic about Clarke, it is concerning. Even more concerning is the Grizzlies’ bench play. For the second game in a row, the opponent’s bench outscored the Memphis bench by double digits. Nothing good can come from the bench being consistently outscored, much like nothing good can come from jacking up three-point shots five seconds into the shot clock. (Looking at you, Dillon Brooks.)

Here is a brief rundown of the second game of the season:

 

The good:

Kyle Anderson 

All five starters scoring double digits 

Fewer turnovers committed by the Grizzlies 

Grizzlies converting Hawks turnovers into points 

 

The bad:

Foul trouble 

Dillon Brooks shooting 3 of 11 from beyond the arc 

Grizzlies bench play 

Not driving to the basket

Let’s all hope that what this team needs is just to shake off the rust. 

 

Who Got Next?

The Grizzlies will face off against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, December 28th.