Memphis Grizzlies: Don’t blame Grayson Allen for the Grizzlies’ last-second loss

The Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Dallas Mavericks in one of the most painful ways imaginable on Wednesday night in a vitally important game.

The team held a 2-point lead and had a 90% free throw shooter in Grayson Allen headed to the free-throw line. For all intents and purposes, the game was over. Allen could miss a shot and it would still be extremely unlikely for the Mavs to tie it up.

Allen missed the first. “Okay, that’s fine,” Grizzlies fans thought, “Grayson Allen is a 90% free throw shooter, he’ll knock down the second.” Allen laughed. He stepped back on the line, caught the ball, and threw up a second brick in a row.

There was a sudden feeling of panic in the air, but the odds were still heavily in the Grizzlies’ favor to win this game. The Mavericks inbounded the ball followed by Luka stumbling through two Grizzlies defenders and knocking down a 3-point shot with time expiring.

It was one of the most unfortunate losses that I’ve witnessed as a sports fan. But the saddest part about this is that a handful of Grizzlies fans went after Grayson Allen after the game.

Memphis Grizzlies G Grayson Allen is not to blame for this loss

Before you go after Grayson Allen for the Grizzlies’ loss, think about a couple of things.

Firstly, do you think Allen wanted to miss those free throws? He’s likely already beating himself up, you don’t need to jump in and help. Going after players never helps anybody, so take a step back and think about what you’re saying.

Beyond that, going after Allen for this loss is completely paradoxical. Without Allen, the Grizzlies would not have been in a position to win the game. He was objectively the best player on the court for Memphis on Wednesday night.

With 23 points, the former Duke Blue Devil led the team in scoring. He was on fire from 3-point range, draining 3 long-range shots. This tied a career-high for Allen. He would tack on a pair of assists and a couple of steals.

If the Grizzlies had won this game, he would have been the player of the game.

That said, if you’re looking to point a finger, do not point it at Allen. First, take a look at who the Grizzlies just lost to. Yes, the Mavericks have had a down year, but Luka Doncic is one of the most clutch players in the league — Grizzlies fans had to learn that the hard way. This was not the first of these occurrences for the Mavericks star player.

Secondly, look at Taylor Jenkins. I’m not saying you should go out of your way to attack Jenkins – you shouldn’t – but this is a Grizzlies team that has struggled late in games all season long. Free throws have doomed Memphis one too many times.

At this stage of the season, something should have been done. Late practices that see each player make a certain number of free throws before leaving, extra free throws in scrimmages, anything. That said, free throws were a small part of an extremely unfortunate disaster ending for the Grizz.

The Memphis Grizzlies will try to bounce back from this heartbreaking loss against the Chicago Bulls on Friday. The results of that game will say a lot about this team’s resilience down the stretch.