Memphis Grizzlies: Marc Gasol Stars In Win Over Minnesota
By Chris Kern
The Memphis Grizzlies continue to play their style of basketball. They’re winning games and a lot of that has to do with a rejuvenated Marc Gasol.
Marc Gasol has been key to the Memphis Grizzlies early season success. They are 10-5 and have been one of the most surprising teams in the NBA.
They continued that success with a road win in Minnesota Sunday afternoon. They improve to 4-4 away from home as they won back to back road games for the first time since March 2017.
Gasol led the way but he had a lot of help from his teammates. Mike Conley played well finishing with 18 points and 8 assists.
One area the Timberwolves frustrated the Grizzlies was with their pick and roll defense. They did a good job pressuring the ball handler and also trapped at times.
This led to some turnovers and many bad passes by Memphis. When Gasol started hitting threes out of this it opened up driving lanes for Conley and the other Grizzlies guards.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had some big moments in this game. He dominated during a stretch in the third quarter, scoring a couple baskets as well as playing excellent defense.
He finished the game with 13 points and 3 blocked shots. JaMychal Green‘s return was one of many reasons he saw less playing time as he finished with just 19 minutes of action.
Green played well in his return to the Grizzlies. He was making a big impact on the defensive end and was playing extremely hard.
He finished with eight points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes. His defensive impact was felt also as he had two blocks and a steal.
Then we have backup point guard Shelvin Mack. Every game it seems like he comes in and makes big shots for this team and that’s what he did today.
He hit some big jumpers in the second half to extend the lead as he finished the game with 12 points and 2 assists.
The rest of the guys contributed as well which is what makes this team so special. They are extremely deep but they were led once again by their star center, Marc Gasol.