Memphis Grizzlies Disappoint in Cleveland, Fall to Cavaliers

Mar 25, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Vince Carter (15) fakes a shot as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) defends in the first half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

The Memphis Grizzlies had a much-anticipated matchup tonight against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they failed to pull through against one of the East’s best teams.

The Grizzlies had a huge game on their schedule tonight when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers came to town. The Cavs are a contending team that could very well come out atop of the Eastern Conference in the NBA Playoffs. Memphis lost their previous meeting with the Cavs by a score of 91-105, although the Grizz were without key contributors Zach Randolph and Tony Allen.

Wednesday night, with an opportunity to prove their greatness against one of the NBA’s top teams, the Memphis Grizzlies fumbled and stumbled–majorly. The game was out of reach from almost the very beginning. Even though the Grizz managed to remain in the game after the first quarter–trailing by just three points at 19-22–it was only downhill from there.

Mar 25, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson (13) and Memphis Grizzlies guard Beno Udrih (19) battle for a loose ball in the second half at FedExForum. Cleveland defeated Memphis 111-89. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland came into the game with the hot hands. They were firing on all cylinders from all over the court. For the next three quarters, the Cavs took off. Literally. Marc Gasol and Beno Udrih were the only two decently-effective players for the Memphis Grizzlies on the night.

At halftime, the Cavaliers had pushed their lead to 42-55. This is typically where Grizz Nation see the squad hit back with a massive comeback effort; however, that did not happen tonight. Cleveland took care of their business–unfortunately.

Cleveland’s lead would grow to 66-91 after the third quarter. At that point, it felt like the game was not worth playing one last period. The 12 minutes were just as gruesome. Memphis could not keep up with the Cavs’ offense.

No opponent comes into the Grindhouse and excels, although that is what happened tonight. Do not expect that to happen again this season, though.

Mar 25, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Jeff Green (32) and Cleveland Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov (20) battle for a rebound in the first half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

The Cavs began to stuff the stat sheet left and right, up and down. On paper, tonight might possibly be the worst game the Grizzlies have played all season. Most of the lines for Memphis tonight are usually seen after a regular one quarter of play.

Grizz Nation wanted to see a great game tonight, but something was not right. Cleveland was shooting exceptionally, but still, the effort was not put forth by the Memphis Grizzlies. If Memphis would have known that the squad was going to come out as flat for three quarters as they did, they would have been better off to have sit their starters for rest. Yikes!

In a game that was strongly determined by notching rebounds and assists, the Cavaliers stole one from the Grizz by a final score of 89-111.

The Grizzlies need to do some soul-searching, prepare, and play at full force in their next game (Friday) when they receive a visit from the NBA’s top team, the Golden State Warriors. They must erase their memories of tonight’s lackluster performance and prepare to go hard for a full 48 minutes in their upcoming matchup with yet another contending team.

The box score, produced by ESPN, from tonight’s game versus the Cavaliers, can be found here.

Key Game Notes

The Cavs’ “Big Three”–LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving–all scored at least 20 points each.
All 13 Grizz players that were available tonight saw at least three minutes of playing time.
Memphis turned the ball over just eight times, yet the Cavs recorded 18 turnovers.
Cleveland’s Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving tallied five turnovers each.
Memphis’ Marc Gasol registered a game-high three steals.
Jeff Green led the Memphis Grizzlies in rebounding with five boards.
The Grizzlies’ Courtney Lee put up 0 points in just shy of 20 minutes of play.
Grizzlies’ rookie Jordan Adams saw just over 14 minutes of clock–putting up five points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal in the game.
Memphis shot 43.5% from the field while the Cavaliers made 51.2% of their shots.
The Grizzlies were poor from beyond the arc tonight–shooting 4-17 (23.5%) from deep–as Cleveland was hot at 41.2% (41.2%) from distance.
Although the Grizzlies’ bench received extended minutes, Memphis’ reserves outscored Cleveland’s reserves 49-18.
Cleveland outrebounded Memphis 49-32 and the Cavs almost doubled the Grizzlies in assist production (30-18).
It did not matter much since the game was a blowout, but the Grizzlies shot just 68.8% from the free throw-line on 16 attempts.
The Cavaliers are a team with multiple high-profile stars, yet they attempted three less free-throws than the Memphis Grizzlies (13 to 16, respectively).

Fantasy Watch: Grizzlies Edition

Marc Gasol: 18 points on 7/15 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, three steals, two blocks
Zach Randolph: Five points on 2/8 shooting, three rebounds
Mike Conley: 10 points on 4/7 shooting, five assists, three turnovers
Tony Allen: Seven points on 3/11 shooting, eight rebounds, three turnovers

Next Game

Dec 16, 2014; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) looks to pass as Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) and forward Draymond Green (23) defend at FedExForum. Grizzlies defeated the Warriors 105-98. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

The 50-22 Memphis Grizzlies will look to rejoin their winning ways as they take on the Golden State Warriors on Friday, March 27th. This will be a crucial game for the Western Conference’s second-seeded Grizzlies, in which they should be hungry and well-rested, when they face the first-seeded Warriors in the Grindhouse.

Go Grizz!

More from Beale Street Bears

Home/Grizzlies News