The Memphis Grizzlies are back in action, but their preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets didn’t quite go as planned, with a 119-94 loss. Missing key players like Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke, Vince Williams Jr., and GG Jackson II made it tough to gauge the team’s performance.
As I was sitting in the FedExForum talking to another reporter, I said the game looked eerily similar to the previous regular season games which included key rotation players missing from action.
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins acknowledged the challenges, saying the team lacked pace and key ingredients, but he’s optimistic about the progress.
He said, “I definitely think sometimes we’re missing some key ingredients, for sure, which makes it a little bit tougher. … We didn’t have our pop for sure. We weren’t playing at the pace that we needed to [and] guys that have been training hard just kind of fell flat today. You could see that early in the first quarter. We weren’t getting in the paint as much as we could. Obviously, we were taking the ball out of the net.”
Jenkins continued, “I told these guys on nights like this where we don’t have our pace, we can still control the defensive activity. We turned it up in the third quarter, but obviously the Hornets had a heck of a night. But I’m liking what I’m seeing from all these guys. The movement’s been there. We’ve got to initiate some advantages a little bit differently. That’s stuff that we’ll just continue to add. But stressing the movement, the pace, we just fell a little bit flat.”
Rookies Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells are getting valuable NBA minutes, which will aid their development.
The good news is that Morant, Jackson Jr., and Clarke are expected back for the season opener, while Williams and Jackson II will take a bit longer to recover.
Overall Memphis is focusing on player development and preseason preparation despite injuries. Again, it’s preseason, so no need to panic. The Grizzlies will regroup and refocus for their next game.
Up next: Grizzlies face the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, 7 p.m. tipoff.
