In a blowout loss the Memphis Grizzlies failed to capture an opportunity to prove they’re a different team from the start of the season.
It’s not easy being a Memphis Grizzlies fan right now.
When watching the team I get the feeling that there’s not enough effort being put forth against opponents.
It’s one thing if the Grizzlies aren’t on top of their game against a sub-.500 team. That mindset isn’t always present among a team that’s clearly more talented (although the Golden State Warriors look like a bunch of killers at the moment). But Memphis not getting up for one of the top three teams in the Western Conference isn’t what this team’s been about over the last few years.
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The Grizzlies fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-94 Wednesday night and sit only one game above .500. The good news is that it’s been nothing but disaster in the West this season so they’re still in the thick of the playoff race.
The bad news? Memphis doesn’t seem to have grown at all since the beginning of the season when they got ramrodded by multiple title contenders including the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Improvement showed in games leading up to this most recent loss. The Grizzlies were holding opponents under 100 points and won with defense and heart. You’re not showing heart when you let the other team win by 13 on the boards and shoot 47.1 percent from three-point range.
Granted Mike Conley wasn’t out there due to a sore left Achilles tendon but there’s plenty of talent on the roster after him, including Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph who both failed at dominating the post scoring a combined 20 points on 7-of-24 shooting.
Mario Chalmers was Memphis’ leading scorer at 23 points, but outside of him the team looked depleted and defeated throughout.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant brought their best putting up 46 points on 16-of-35 shooting combined. Every Oklahoma City player except for Mitch McGary who played against the Grizzlies in this game scored. That’s a problem for a team built around toughness and defensive intensity.
I’m not sure what to make of all these lopsided losses on the year for Memphis. Is this a coaching problem? Are the players not good enough anymore? Do serious changes need to be made to the roster and/or front office?
Next up for the Grizzlies is a game with the Denver Nuggets on Friday. Let’s hope the team comes out with more passion in front of the home crowd.