5 reasons why the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies upset the Phoenix Suns

No 4. Santi Aldama gave us the best look yet at the player he can become

It’s not often we get to see 6’11” rookie Santi Aldama during games this season. He’s averaging 10.6 minutes per game in 30 appearances.

We saw him more frequently during the winter when we had players unavailable due to Health and Safety protocols. Now, we usually only see him in garbage time.

But, during the Phoenix game, Aldama was able to play 21 minutes and showed some flashes of why the Grizzlies drafted him in the first round.

Late in the fourth quarter, we saw Aldama drive to the basket from the wing and throw down a thunderous reverse slam dunk that ignited the crowd and gave Memphis the final spark of energy to put away the Suns.

It’s unlikely we see Aldama play much during the playoffs, but with more time with the Memphis Hustle and another round of Summer League action, Aldama could turn into a solid bargaining chip in trade talks or an insurance policy if the Grizzlies are unable or uninteresting in retaining Kyle Anderson during free agency this summer.

No 5. The Memphis Grizzlies excelled at doing all the little things really well

The Grizzlies have struggled with free-throw shooting all season long. They have even gone as far as to create a custom pro-wrestling style championship belt to award the best shooters during practice.

That belt seems to have helped the players in their quest to get better from the line. Against Phoenix, they made their free-throws, especially when it mattered most at the end of the game.

Memphis was 23-28 from the line while Phoenix was just 10-17. Free throws absolutely mattered in the game. If the Grizzlies didn’t knock down their free throws, this game could have easily been tipped into the Suns’ favor.

Even more so, the Grizzlies absolutely waxed the Suns on the glass, offensively. They outrebounded Phoenix 16-2 on offense, creating a plethora of second-chance opportunities.

In fact, Memphis outscored Phoenix 30-2 on second-chance points. That’s a staggering margin. What makes that figure even more impressive is that the Grizzlies managed this feat without the services of the NBA’s leader in offensive rebounds, Steven Adams (4.7 offensive rpg).