Report Card: Grizzlies pick up 7th straight in an unnecessarily close victory against Magic

The Memphis Grizzlies have been scorching hot, not only winning their past six games, but during this span, they’ve been able to integrate Ja Morant back into the rotation seamlessly. Since the star has been back they’ve scored 404 points, the most in the NBA for any team’s last three games. 

However, for their contest against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, the team was without Morant, who was out tonight due to thigh soreness. In search of their seventh straight victory, the Grizzlies took care of business against the Magic, 113-108, preventing a late game surge by Orlando to help set the franchise record for most home wins in a season. 

Here’s how some of Memphis’s main contributors fared in the outing with Morant not in uniform:

Jaren Jackson: B-

The Defensive Player of the Year candidate picked up where he left off last game when he blocked five shots. Early in the game, Jackson emphatically stuffed Orlando’s young stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner in his first shift. As Jackson asserted his dominance on the defensive end, he got into a rhythm on the offensive end, knocking down triples, scoring from the post, and cutting to the basket, leading to easy baskets for him. By the end of the first half, Jackson Jr. had 14 points on 4/6 shooting to go along with seven boards and two blocks. Although his first half was mostly sunshine and rainbows, the All-Star was not as effective in the second half — picking up his fifth foul early in the final quarter, forcing Memphis take him out as Orlando had cut their deficit down to single digits for the first time since late in the first quarter. Jackson also had an unnecessary foul with less than 90 seconds left that caused him to foul out. The big man ended the night worse than he started it, which deters him from receiving a higher grade.

Desmond Bane: B

The TCU product did not let his inability to knock down the trey ball early in the game deter him from being a major contributor. Starting 0/5 from downtown, Bane was assertive in transition, making three heavily contested layups in transition in the first quarter, and his active hands on defense led to three steals for the game. Bane found the bottom of the net from three for the first time in the game in the third quarter, going 3/3 from three the rest of the game after his rough start, helping him finish with 31 points on the game, a team-high. Bane’s sloppiness to end the game put a blemish on his overall well-rounded performance though, missing multiple free throws and having an array of turnovers to help him lead the team with six, that put the Grizzlies lead severely in danger late in the contest. 

Xavier Tillman: A 

Scoring the first two baskets in the game for Memphis, Tillman was incredibly efficient throughout the contest. Being at the right place at the right time, cutting at appropriate times, leading to easy scores in the paint, and being physical around the rim, all helped him have his best scoring performance of his career with 20 points, on an efficient 83.3% percent shooting, to go along with nine rebounds and a steal, resulting in him obtaining the squad’s highest grade for the outing.

Luke Kennard: A-

After nailing 10 triples in his last home game, Kennard continued his dominance from downtown in this one. After hitting a midrange jumper for his first basket, Long Ball Luke hit four consecutive threes, including one from 27-feet out. Throughout the contest, the three-point specialist made a concerted effort to look for his teammates — helping Xavier Tillman have an efficient night around the rim, putting Tyus Jones in a good position to score his first basket after his fellow Duke product missed his first four shots, and even setting up a struggling Dillon Brooks for a first three-point make.

The trade deadline acquisition started to cool off a bit from the field in the second half, missing his first three pointer at home after 12 straight makes and later getting rejected by Magic center Goga Bitadze. However, the proficient and efficient first half and the consistent playmaking for others warrants a high grade for the reserve.  

Overall Grade: B

Memphis looked unstoppable for most of the contest, playing team basketball, eventually starting to knock down the long-ball as the game went on and winning the rebound game. However, a sloppy fourth quarter that led to Orlando cutting down the Grizzlies lead to a single possession, something that seemed inconceivable a mere quarter before, prevents this performance from being one of the team’s better on the year.