The Memphis Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves enter Game 5 of their first-round playoff series tied at 2-2.
Momentum seems to be in Minnesota’s favor, despite the game being played in Memphis. There’s no avoid it: the Grizzlies have not played well at all during the entire series.
That’s both good and bad: the team has won two games despite such poor play and they’ve lost two games to the seventh seed in the West.
The officiating has been horrific in this series, but they are not the sole reason Memphis has lost two games out of four.
- Ja Morant has not been himself
- Jaren Jackson Jr. has been in a career-worst slump
- The Grizzlies don’t have a player to counter All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns
- The three-point shooting woes (as a team) continue.
- Dillon Brooks is not the same defender he was during last year’s playoff matchup against Utah.
- Steven Adams and De’Anthony Melton have been non-factors, despite being hugely important to the team’s regular-season success.
There have been a few bright spots and Desmond Bane is one of them. Tyus Jones and Brandon Clarke have been excellent off the bench.
The bad far outweighs the good in this series so far. So the fact that the Grizzlies are still in this is pretty surprising, actually. But, there are more concerns heading into a pivotal Game 5. Let’s dive in to those concerns.