Memphis Grizzlies: It is Time to Try Something Different

After their second loss with a 19 point lead, in a week, it is time for the Memphis Grizzlies to figure out what is going on.

4 Quarters of Basketball

The Memphis Grizzlies played with fire and with passion the first half of the game, giving the Boston Celtics and Kyrie Irving some of that Beale Street defense. The Grizzlies led almost the entire half and were hitting shots from the perimeter, as well as finding clean looks near the rim.

Marc Gasol‘s 10 assists fueled the first half to what many Memphis fans thought would be a win over one of the top Eastern Conference teams. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

The Celtics came back to control the second half and held Memphis to less than 20 points in the 4th Quarter. Dillon Brooks showed us his love for this team and showed more of last seasons DB with 19 points.

It was nice to see him play a larger role in the lineup. Even with a great offensive effort and clean looks, what happened? What can be done to change things?

Rotation

The Memphis Grizzlies are operating on a similar rotation each night, allowing teams to know more about how to control the game. Jaren Jackson Jr. has started to receive more minutes which is great but a team can not have a game end at halftime.

Last night, Shelvin Mack did not play that much at all. After such a good start he has been going through a dry patch for some time now.

Because of this, we are seeing more minutes out of players like Kyle Anderson and Garrett Temple; both great players. Anderson plays a huge role with his rebounding and assists.

On the other hand, Temple’s offensive numbers are not consistent enough to match the number of minutes he is playing. There are players that the Grizzlies have that can be crucial in times of the 3rd and 4th quarters for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Seeing more minutes in the 3rd quarter for Joakim Noah and Omri Casspi could improve post shot attempts as well as inside defense while Gasol is on the bench.

The team should also consider using Jevon Carter in place of or partnered with Mike Conley. Carter is both a range scorer, a fearless post scorer, as well as a Tony Allen type defender.

And, not that many Memphis fans want to hear this, but during the 3rd and 4th quarters, Chandler Parsons would be a great addition while Temple is out.

It is easy to jump on the hate bandwagon for Parsons due to his contract but why not use it while the Grizzlies can? When he was playing healthy, he was a starter.

He was shooting the ball well and has a veteran presence on the court. He would not have to play the whole game, therefore resting and being able to play multiple games in a row.

It does not hurt to change things up a little. Especially when the Memphis Grizzlies are having difficulty playing four full quarters of basketball. There are players on the roster that deserve a chance; even some that were not mentioned such as Yuta Watanabe.

The Grizzlies’ struggles shouldn’t last much longer but if they do not start to resolve their own issues then Memphis may be too far down to get into the playoffs. The West is tough but the Memphis Grizzlies have shown that they have what it takes to compete.