Despite squaring off against a similarly hobbled Phoenix team Friday evening, things still ended in a far too familiar fashion for the Memphis Grizzlies, as they found themselves finishing off on the wrong side of yet another lopsided affair.
No Kevin Durant (foot) and Bradley Beal (back) proved to be no problem for the visiting Suns as they rather effortlessly soared toward a 110-89 triumph, claiming their third consecutive In-Season Tournament win while simultaneously sending coach Taylor Jenkins' already eliminated squad to a grueling 3-12 record on the year, tying the Spurs for the second-worst mark on the year thus far.
Though the Grizzlies may have shown a few flashes of competent production on the night, particularly during the final 7:15 in the third period when they went on an 18-10 tear, more often than not it seemed the Suns had an answer to any potential run they looked to be on the verge of making and, during his postgame interview, the team's primary standout Derrick Rose provided a blunt analysis for why.
Derrick Rose drops truth bomb on lack of communication on Grizzlies
"Just communicating. [I've] been saying that the whole time. I don't know when it's going to actually resonate but if we're not going to talk on the defensive end there's no way in hell we're going to win these games and that's just honestly speaking. Communication is huge in this league, especially on this level. Sometimes it's intimidating if you're hearing the opposite team saying exactly or calling the exact play that you're running and it lets you know everybody has the same come-and-go while they're out there, everybody's on the same page."Derrick Rose on Grizzlies
Far too often on the night, the Grizzlies were found attempting to primarily roll with man coverage against the Suns, which regularly resulted in either a defender being beaten off the dribble on a drive to the rim or an impressive move by a handler (Devin Booker was an absolute pest in this particular area) that created enough separation in the mid-to-long-range for a flashy score.
In the end, Memphis wound up allowing Phoenix to shoot at an efficient 51.3 percent clip from the field and 35.5 percent from deep while registering a whopping 22 personal fouls and allowing Booker alone to drop 40 points on 71.4 percent shooting along the way.
Fortunately, even with this lackluster showing, Rose noted during his harsh reality check to the team that these issues are things that "we can work on and actually improve on" as the year progresses, though, based on their lowly record coupled with the fact that we're nearly a quarter of the way through the season, they need to find answers quickly.
shoutout to derrick rose 🌹 pic.twitter.com/0IdJjEwNrz
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 24, 2023
Despite the lowly overall outcome, the veteran himself still went on to post perhaps his finest outing of the season to date, as he dropped an impressive stat line of 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal while shooting an incredible 88.9 percent from the floor and a perfect 1-for-1 from distance.
Sadly, his on-court excellence couldn't pave the way toward win number four and, in turn, the Grizzlies now see their losing streak extend to three straight with no clear end in sight.