Memphis Grizzlies Must Use Brotherly Love as Advantage in New Orleans

In just his second game as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, Justin Holiday will face one of his siblings as the team is desperate for a win versus the New Orleans Pelicans.

The changes continue by week and nearly by day — both on and off the hardwood — for the Memphis Grizzlies. Still, the constant is that the losses have not stopped since the New Year.

As J.B. Bickerstaff has made noticeable adjustments in the past couple of games in order to increase the Grizzlies’ odds of victory, each game remains “must-win.” What better way to snag a victory than on the road versus an interdivisional rival in the New Orleans Pelicans?

Monday’s matchup will feature Justin Holiday in his second overall game as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies since joining them via the trade that went down prior to the weekend.

In Saturday’s road loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Holiday was thrown into the fire with very little familiarity with this new teammates. He struggled on both ends of the ball, but honestly that was the case for the Grizzlies as a whole. They were playing catch-up the entire time, though falling by just nine points.

After practicing with the team and going over many plays, Justin Holiday will soon become comfortable in his new uniform. Grizz Nation will see the value behind the former Chicago Bulls guard.

On the night of the recent trade, Justin was preparing to face the Indiana Pacers, a team whose roster features his youngest brother, NBA rookie Aaron Holiday.

The Holiday family is extremely close, so Justin probably had that particular game circled on his calendar well in advance. As a consolation prize for Justin, he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, who are now set to face the Pelicans and his other brother — Jrue Holiday — on Monday evening.

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Memphis sits at 18-21 on the season, which is 0.5 games ahead of New Orleans in the NBA’s Western Conference standings. The Grizzlies have been quickly sinking, and a loss on Monday will have yet another team surpassing them. This time, it would not only be the conference standings, but also the divisional rankings.

Both of these teams faced off on December 7th in the New Orleans Pelicans’ house, where the Grizzlies came away as the victors by the tune of 107-103. Oddly enough, these teams are meeting exactly one month later, but the tables have drastically turned on Memphis’ end.

In early December, the club was still performing at their season’s peak. Since then, the Grizzlies have only collected three additional wins to pair with a dozen losses. They are in need of a victory in the worst way, but this will be the furthest thing from an easy task in The Big Easy.

In order to gain an advantage against the Pelicans, Memphis must feature Justin Holiday as a priority in their wing rotation. After all, defensively, he knows Jrue Holiday’s game the best of anyone on the Grizzlies’ roster.

Jrue caused major issues for the Memphis Grizzlies in December, tallying 20 points (7/15 shooting), five rebounds, 11 assists, and one block in 39 minutes on that night. Memphis cannot afford to allow him to get going again, especially since their defense is not nearly as superior as it was one month ago.

Offensively, Memphis is eager to unleash Justin’s ability to knock down the three-point shot, especially from both corners. Memphis has been exhibiting enhanced ball movement as of late, but they have struggled to place the basketball through the hoop.

Has helped arrived? It all takes place beginning at 7:00 PM Central Time in New Orleans. Memphis will be striving to achieve their first victory of 2019.