Last night, the Grizzlies lost their first of two games in Portland in pretty lopsided fashion, 135-115. Despite Scotty Pippen Jr. making his long-awaited return, the Grizzlies' lack of size erased what was a pretty promising start to the game. Given the Grizzlies' current circumstances, the Trail Blazers were simply a nightmare matchup.
The Grizzlies had two very energetic wins to start February. The first quarter and early minutes of the second quarter against the Trail Blazers made it seem like the Grizzlies could potentially start February off 3-0. However, as expected before the game yesterday, the Grizzlies' lack of available bigs clearly hurt them.
The defense was completely overmatched
The Grizzlies defense is nowhere near the same level without a healthy Zach Edey. Now, with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jock Landale gone, the Grizzlies are simply lacking available centers. Santi Aldama is also battling a right knee injury, and Kyle Anderson was not available due to an illness. None of the players that played against the Trail Blazers were listed above 6'9".
With the Grizzlies' lack of quality rim protectors, their perimeter defense eventually suffered as a byproduct. Portland hit 17 of their three-point shots last night, which also opened up plenty of easy interior looks for them. Despite being down just four at halftime, the Grizzlies ended up allowing 66 second-half points and trailed by as many as 30 points.
There were some offensive flashes occasionally
GG Jackson II has played much better since getting back into the rotation. He had another game of double-digit scoring with 15 points. This was despite not being featured in the offense nearly enough.
Scotty Pippen Jr., while looking slightly rusty in his first game back from injury, still managed to record 13 points and 6 assists in 22 minutes of game action. It was clear that the Grizzlies have missed his presence all year. Cam Spencer and Walter Clayton Jr. also gave the Grizzlies an offense boost, as Spencer scored 18 points and Clayton Jr. added 11 points in his Grizzlies' debut.
While the offense did end with 115 points, plenty of their late scoring was in a low-leverage situation, and the Grizzlies did not fully optimize their most reliable scoring options. With the Grizzlies still missing key players and having a fairly new-look roster, they will likely have some offensive inconsistencies the next few games. However, the offense, regardless of how well it does, likely won't be able to overcome the current defensive struggles.
The Grizzlies fell to 20-30 following last night's loss to the Trail Blazers. The Grizzlies are now 1-1 on their current road trip. With another game against the Trail Blazers and road games against the Warriors and Nuggets, the Grizzlies will likely stumble into All-Star break with multiple losses.