Insider Insights: Grizz Flash Limitless Potential, Pummel Pacers (12/21/23)

Roars erupted in the arena when Ja Morant’s name was called during the starting lineup introductions. Standing there amongst the chaos, I almost expected Morant to grab a nearby microphone and shout over the rejoicing cheers, “Are you not entertained?” Like that scene from “Gladiator.”

At that moment, it genuinely felt like the city wrapped its proverbial arms around Ja… without judgment, concern, or reserve. Only trust and love. We finally have our superstar point guard back, but, more importantly, we finally have the face of our city back.

Morant has more than paid his dues for mistakes made, especially relative to other “mistakes” we have seen players make around the league, even recently (i.e., that one Hornets player and that one Thunder player.)

Beyond just the Memphis Grizzlies organization and their players and fans, the city itself has had to suffer because of a commissioner’s fragile ego and the league’s bizarre moral spectrum, which would rather hyper-fixate on solving “gun culture” all in one fell swoop than drawing a line in the sand when it comes to protecting women.

All right, I’ll get down from my soapbox now.

What matters, or, rather, what we can (and should) focus on, is our team. The “now.”

The Grizzlies are back. There will be inevitable bumps in the road, but Morant’s return to the court has served as a positive catalyst; he makes everyone around him on the floor better. But it almost seems as if he brings out the best in his teammates as people, too.

Sure, winning is fun; it is easy to be in a good mood when everything is going well. But there is something about Morant’s leadership and poise that serve as a sort of non-verbal message of “don’t worry; be happy.” Confidence exudes. Let’s get into the game.

Game Recap

The first quarter began with a Ja Morant layup off of a backdoor cut. Two possessions later, Desmond Bane pushed the ball in transition and converted a tough layup himself. The Grizzlies were off and running.

Indiana pushed back on the Grizzlies’ hot start by crashing the offensive glass and nailing second-chance, inside-out three-pointers off of missed shots. Buddy Hield, in particular, missed a three and then had the ball tipped back out to him on the perimeter. And you know what they say… shooters don’t miss twice.

Memphis had an answer, rattling off a 10-1 run to open up the lead to 25-16. A Jaren Jackson Jr. three-pointer capped it off. Timeout Indiana. Unfortunately, Andrew Nembhard had his own answer for the ‘Cers, knocking down back-to-back threes to keep the game close (25-22.)

Almost immediately after Morant was subbed back in (he was taken out halfway through the first), the Grizz scored ten unanswered points.

The beginning of the second quarter was simply an extension of the end of the first; the Grizz put together another nine unanswered points, extending the run to 19-0 (44-22.) Santi hit a three, Ziaire hit a three, and Ja threw Z an electric alley-oop.

Memphis held Indiana at arm’s length until Ja subbed out. Then, the energy died down, the defense faltered, and the half-court looks that the Grizz were getting offensively (with Ja in the game) disappeared. The Pacers went nuclear in the final minutes of the second quarter to cut the Memphis lead to just two points (58-56.) It was almost as if they hit the Staples “that was easy” button.

There was a lot of back-and-forth at the beginning of the third quarter, with each team exchanging blows. Aaron Nesmith was hot from deep in this one, knocking down four of his eight three-point attempts en route to another double-digit game. However, it was his defense (four steals, three blocks) that wreaked havoc throughout for Memphis.

After Nesmith’s fourth three-pointer, which cut the Grizzlies’ lead to just one point, he picked up a technical foul. Bane knocked down the free throw. What happened shortly after will go down in Grizz lore until the end of time…

An untimely turnover towards the end of the third quarter led to Benn Mathurin breaking out in transition, but he was met at the rim by none other than “Jitty,” who soared through the air to heights unseen by man for one of the best blocks I’ve witnessed from a guard… Well, a guard that’s not named “Ja Morant,” at least. See the swat below, courtesy of Bryson Wright.

Konchar was initially called for a foul, but a collective circling of index fingers throughout the arena prompted a review. The refs got it right: the call was overturned.

The “Jitty Block,” as we will call it, helped reignite the team’s energetic fire. The beginning of the fourth quarter was a “lights out, son” start, with Ja Morant finishing around the basket for an And-1, shortly followed by a Ziaire Williams triple (he called “bank,” right?), and, finally, a Santi Aldama three-pointer.

After that, it was relatively smooth sailing. The Grizzlies got 20 PTS, 8 AST, and 5 REB from Ja; Jaren posted 21 PTS and 7 REB; and Bane went for a team-high 31 PTS to go along with 7 AST and 6 REB. Additionally, Ziaire Williams and Santi Aldama chipped in 16 PTS and 13 PTS off the bench, respectively.

Now, let’s get into some takeaways:

Jitty Blocks & Jitty Boards

Perhaps, John Konchar’s improved play was partially correlated with the return of Ja Morant, but it seems like there is more to it than that. “Jitty” played about as freely on both ends of the floor as I have seen all season long. And when Konchar plays freely, he trusts his instincts, which are pretty solid.

This freedom led to breathtaking blocks and above-the-rim rebounds, which were much-needed after the Pacers began the game crushing us on the offensive glass.

I’d wager that Konchar’s “freedom” is more or less the result of the team seemingly opting to keep him around. There is no way to say for certain whether this play will continue, but with two emphatic blocks and six crucial rebounds in 21 minutes of play, we can hope that the trend will continue into our upcoming road trip because we definitely need help on the boards.

Big Men Ball Handling

Turnovers were one of the few weaknesses of last night’s game, with the Grizz committing 18 of them. Gross. The sad reality we must face is that our bigs are not ball-handlers. Even when our guards are being picked up full-court by defenders, we still have to find a way to get the ball back to them the moment any non-guard crosses half-court.

This list includes David Roddy, Ziaire Williams, Jaren Jackson Jr., Bismack Biyombo (God help us all if “Bis” takes the ball up the floor), and “Triple J.” We have entirely too many turnovers from travels, charges (given, not taken), errant passes, and sloppy ball handling.

Don’t believe me? Watch the tape back. We could have cut out at least three or four turnovers just by following those simple rules. Side Note: Out-of-bounds (or SLOBs) plays should also not involve a center (at least, our centers) taking the ball out.

Vince Williams Jr. Strikes Again

Vince. Freaking. Williams. Are you kidding me? Williams played some of the best defense that we have seen against Tyrese Haliburton all season long; he was physical, moved his feet/hips well, and navigated ball screens masterfully.

Vince was always in position and clearly did his homework on Hali’s on-ball tendencies. This intensity and defensive effort from Williams are worthy of significant minutes.

If he can fill in the massive defensive hole that Dillon Brooks’ departure left, we will be in fantastic shape on the wing, especially with Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard set to return at any moment.

Next Up

The Grizzlies kick-start a four-game road trip when they travel to Atlanta for a battle with the Hawks on Saturday, December 23rd, at 6:30 PM Central. Catch them on BallySports or NBA League Pass.