It was only a week and a half ago when the Grizzlies were in the midst of an eight-game stretch of close wins that they held a record of 7-1 from mid-January to late February. However, they have suffered three consecutive losses on the final play of the game (all at home), including losing the last two games to teams under .500.
Their loss to the Atlanta Hawks last night was hysterical in some aspects as the team held a 13-point lead early in the fourth before being outscored 25-10 the remainder of the game, including a 7-0 run to end the last 2:37.
The Grizzlies had the basketball with a chance to take the final shot of the game, but a turnover by Desmond Bane led to a buzzer-beating layup attempt by Caris LeVert to continue the Grizzlies' misery.
Now, losers of three consecutive games for the first time this season with the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on tap Wednesday night, the Grizzlies are searching for answers. While the injuries have reared their ugly head with Jaren Jackson Jr. leaving last night's game early on, Memphis must snap out of its funk quickly.
The Grizzlies are giving up 36.7 points in the 2nd quarter since the All-Star break
The Grizzlies' defense has ranked 28th in defensive rating since the All-Star break which is totally uncharacteristic of a team that has prided itself on that end for years. The thing that the fanbase can hang their hat on is that the Grizzlies still remain in the top 10 in defensive rating on the entire season, meaning this seven-game sample size can be considered a mirage.
However, losing Jaren Jackson Jr. (who figures to be out for at least a couple of games) for any length of time can only hurt their defense, and they are a -6.3 in defensive rating when he is off the court vs on the court. The other thing that is killing them is their second-quarter defense, which is when Jaren Jackson Jr. sits the longest.
They are giving up an average of 36.7 points in the second quarter since the All-Star break, including giving up over 40 points three times. Two of those have occurred in their last two games as the San Antonio Spurs scored 46 points and the Atlanta Hawks scored 42 points in the second quarter of those games.
The other time? The Grizzlies gave up 50! Second-quarter points against the Indiana Pacers in their first game after the All-Star break. In the early part of the season, the Grizzlies struggled in third-quarter defense but cleaned up their act pretty quickly.
Their second-quarter defense has been unacceptable and figures to be a talking point for the team moving forward, as those losses got flipped in that quarter. The Grizzlies are sliding with a 3-7 record in their last 10 games but remain in the West's fourth seed, only one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets.