The losses continue to pile up for the Memphis Grizzlies here in 2023-24, as they squandered their sixth consecutive outing Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers during game one of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament’s group play stage.
Though the bout between these two Western Conference clubs was vastly different from their previous outing against the Utah Jazz where they were bested in blowout fashion, as things were decided in extra innings following a late surge by the Blazers in the fourth accompanied by sophomore Shaedon Sharpe’s crucial last-second block on a possible game-winning three-ball by Luke Kennard at the end of regulation, the outcome proved to be the same.
Memphis fell by a final score of 115-113, dropping them to a miserable 0-6 on the year to date.
Memphis Grizzlies dragged on social media following loss to Trail Blazers
In the direct aftermath of the team’s grueling demise, fans flocked to the social media platform ‘X’ (previously Twitter) where they aired out their grievances regarding how the Grizzlies have performed to date.
One user would go on to label Memphis’ efforts as being a major “choke job.”
Generational choke job
— eruj (@erujabidi) November 4, 2023
Another claimed that Ja Morant, who has been sidelined due to suspension and won’t be eligible to return until mid-December, could find himself coming back to a winless team once game 25 rolls around.
Wow the grizzlies are down bad Ja gonna come back at 0-25 🤣🤣
— Laking (@LakingBall) November 4, 2023
One user went as far as to suggest that GM Zach Kleiman should be fired for his retooling of the roster after having two straight seasons finishing with the second-best record in the Western Conference.
They had a good squad last year and chose to blow it up over some comments Dillion brooks made. GM should be fired. You don’t destroy a team over Lebron getting salty.
— Brandon Howard (@BrandingHoward) November 4, 2023
Bouncing off this train of thought, one fan jokingly(?) suggested that former wing Dillon Brooks, who departed for the Houston Rockets this past summer via sign-and-trade, may have been the MVP of the Grizzlies all along.
Dillon brooks was our MVP. Wow can’t believe it
— Grizz Szn (@Reedh98) November 4, 2023
Of course, for those who watched the contest, not all things proved to be a disaster for Memphis, for stars Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane found themselves playing some of their best basketball of the season thus far, as they combined for 63 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals, and 6 blocks while shooting 24-43 (55.8 percent).
Unfortunately, a win is hard to come by when only a couple of players perform admirably, as the team as a whole shot an abysmal 28.6 percent from distance despite hoisting up 35 shots, committed 25 personal fouls, and coughed up 17 turnovers.
In the end, the Grizzlies allow the moniker of the last remaining winless team in the association to live on for a little longer and, as one may have expected, fans are fed up.
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