Grizzlies Fall Short in Indiana

The Memphis Grizzlies traveled to Indiana looking to extend their win streak to four against the Pacers. Both teams were missing key pieces; the Grizzlies still without multiple starters including Ja Morant and Desmond Bane and the Pacers missing Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner.

The Grizzlies got out to another quick start and took advantage of their mismatch on the interior with Jaren Jackson Jr. Memphis would get out to an 8 point lead early, but the Pacers were able to respond thanks to 12 first quarter points from Benedict Mathurin. At the end of one the Grizzlies still led by 4, and had held the best offensive in the NBA to just 23 points on 40% shooting.

The Pacers offense was back to normal to start the 2nd quarter, going on a 12-5 run and taking a 5 point lead early on. Most of that run came with Jackson Jr. and Vince Williams Jr. on the bench, when they returned the Grizzlies were able to get back on track and finished the half on a 12-3 run.

Heading into the half, the Grizzlies led 53-51 thanks two 12 points each from Jackson Jr. and Williams Jr. The Pacers were led by 19 first half points from Mathurin and 10 from newly acquired Pascal Siakim. It was a fast paced game of runs as both teams looked determined to get a win despite their injury troubles.

The third quarter was more of the same back and forth play as both teams came out of the half scoring efficiently. However, it was the Pacers that took control of the game, scoring 41 points, forcing turnovers, and scoring on second chance opportunities. The Pacers would take a 10 point lead into the 4th quarter, their largest of the game.

In the 4th quarter, the Grizzlies went on a 13-2 run, with nine from John Konchar, cutting the deficit to just one with just under 5 minutes left. An and-one from Jackson tied the game up at 107. However, two buckets from Jalen Smith, who finished with a season-high 19 points, put the Pacers back ahead with under a minute.The Pacers would go on to get a 116-110 win at home and snapping the Grizzlies 3-game winning streak.

Lack of ball movement 

One of the main reasons the Grizzlies had won three in a row was due to their increased ball movement. In the last three wins, the Grizzlies had had at least 30 assists as a team compared to just 20 tonight. Some of that was because they missed more open looks, but there were also some bad shot selection early in possessions. With their injuries, the Grizzlies should focus on moving the ball and taking shots later in the shot clock; it helps them avoid long stretches without scoring.

Jaren, Vince, and GG keep hooping

The biggest surprise of this Grizzlies season has been Williams’ emergence on the offensive end. Coming out of college it was clear his defense could translate but the offensive explosion has been crucial for this team. Williams just had a career best 8th straight game with 10+ points and 12th straight game with a made three, finishing with 20 points and 8 rebounds on 8-12 shooting

Jaren Jackson Jr. also had another impressive outing with 25 points,5 rebounds, and 4 assists as his passing has been a huge improvement. He has been seeing even more defensive coverage this season and continues to overcome everything the defense throws at him.

Another bright spot was another big game from GG Jackson, who finished with 18 points on 6-9 shooting. The most impressive part of his game tonight was that he did a lot more with the ball in his hands instead of being a catch a shoot player. Getting him the ball going downhill as a driver or a roller has had great results for the Grizzlies and they should use him more in that role going forward. His development has been another blessing in disguise of their injury issues.

Continuing the fight

The Grizzlies lost tonight but overall have a lot to be proud of in the month of January. Despite the unprecedented amount of injuries, they have continued to compete with the better teams in the NBA. Their main issue has been depth, and a few really bad lineups that have erased what their starters have been able to do, but in terms of effort you cannot as for much more. When most teams would be tanking the Grizzlies have kept t fighting and made the games much more fun than most people imagined after the Morant injury.