Insider Insights: Grizzlies Couldn’t Overcome Hot Shooting from the Hornets

With Santi Aldama added to the injury report and ruled out, the Grizzlies started their league-leading and single-season franchise record 40th different starting lineup with the return of Scotty Pippen Jr. along with Luke Kennard, John Konchar, GG Jackson, and Trey Jemison. That group fell behind 14-6 early but trimmed the deficit to 19-15 before the substitutions entered the game. GG Jackson remained in the game with the bench guys Jake LaRavia, Dejon Jarreau, Jordan Goodwin, and Wenyen Gabriel as they fell behind by 12 points to end the first quarter trailing 31-19.

After falling behind by 14 points early in the second quarter, the Grizzlies forced three turnovers en route to a 10-0 run to cut their deficit to 33-29. However, the Hornets responded with a 21-7 run to push their lead to the largest of the half at 18 points before the Grizzlies ended the quarter on a 10-2 run to trail 56-46 at halftime.

The Grizzlies continued that run into the third quarter as Scotty Pippen Jr. dazzled the crowd with a couple of great passes and a dunk as they cut their deficit back to four points at 67-63.

After trailing by four again at 74-70, the Hornets made back-to-back threes to extend their lead to 10 points at 80-70 to end the third quarter. The Hornets continued that run into the fourth quarter as they extended their lead out to 16 points at 90-74 but Scotty Pippen Jr. and GG Jackson had other plans as they led a 9-0 Grizzlies’ run to cut the deficit to 90-83.

However, the turnovers were too much to overcome for the Grizzlies as the Hornets had a response for every run as they closed the game with a 110-98 win. The Charlotte Hornets swept the season series against the Grizzlies for the first time since the 2018-2019 season at 2-0.

Now for the main takeaway:

Scotty Pippen Jr. is back

Scotty Pippen Jr. returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with a Lumbar Disc Bulge injury in his lower back. After averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 assists on 47.5% shooting (56.5% from three) in his first eight games (four starts) as an active player with the Grizzlies, Pippen Jr. showed signs of being a potential backup point guard option for the Grizzlies going into next season.

Scotty Pippen Jr. signed a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies on January 16th after the promotion of Vince Williams Jr. to the active roster and was a surprise signing to many due to the team’s need for a big man at the time. The point guard position was just as big of a need due to the lengthy injuries of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Marcus Smart and the limited number of games remaining for former two-way guard Jacob Gilyard at the time.

Outside of the obviousness of his namesake being the son of Hall of Famer and six-time champion Scottie Pippen (who was in attendance), Pippen Jr. consistently averaged at least 20 points, nearly 5 assists, and nearly 2 steals throughout his G League tenure with the South Bay Lakers over his first two pro seasons. So the potential was there with his accolades, all that was missing was the opportunity.

His return to the court last night resulted in him finishing with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a career-high 10 assists in 27 minutes against the Charlotte Hornets. Without another true point guard on the active roster besides Ja Morant and the aging Derrick Rose, Scottie Pippen Jr. continues to show that his value on the Grizzlies may warrant a promotion to the main roster either this offseason or sometime during next season.

Start/Stop/Continue

START Scotty Pippen Jr. for as long as he can be on the active roster for the remainder of the season. With the extended amount of time he missed due to the lower back injury, his eligibility to remain on the active roster should be for most if not all of the remaining games. He is the Grizzlies best option at the point guard position right now and it is time to find out just how important of a role he can play going forward.

Coming Up

The Grizzlies finish their three-game homestand with their final matchup of the season against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday at 7 PM CST. The Thunder lead the season series 2-0.

Final Quote

“What we learned from Scotty is his ability to get to the paint, come off pick and rolls, and close out situations. He’s got some scoring ability but the fact that he’s embracing the playmaker role is impressive.” – Taylor Jenkins