Insider Insights: Grizzlies Fall to 0-4 with their 3rd Straight Home Loss

The Grizzlies caught a break in their quest to win their first game this season when it was announced that Kyrie Irving would not play for the Mavericks about 90 minutes before game time. However, Luka Doncic had other plans; he dropped a triple-double as the Mavericks cruised to a double-digit victory over the Grizzlies.

Grant Williams wasted no time in getting Dallas off to a hot start, knocking down three three-pointers within the game’s first four minutes. Memphis trailed 17-9 early in the game.

The Grizzlies responded with an 11-2 run to take the lead 20-19. From there, a barrage of threes from both teams began to rain down. The game’s next 18 points came from the three-point line before the first quarter ended with the Grizzlies leading 36-30. The last sequence was a sight to see as Desmond Bane made a layup, followed by a Marcus Smart steal and assist to Desmond Bane for a three at the buzzer.

The Mavericks struck back quickly as they began the second quarter on a 15-5 run to regain the lead at 45-41. Luka Doncic then returned to the game and began to take over the remainder of the first half, both scoring and playmaking. The Mavericks entered halftime with a 67-61 advantage. The Grizzlies “Big Three” led the way in the first half: Desmond Bane had 18 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. had 14 points, and Marcus Smart had 11 points and six assists.

The Mavericks began the second half by extending their lead to nine points at 73-64, but Desmond Bane sparked a run with a couple of driving layups followed by a Jaren Jackson Jr. three to cut their deficit to 75-73. The Grizzlies squandered many opportunities to take the lead when they had the ball down two and down one at 85-84 before the Mavericks ended the third quarter on a 12-2 run to lead 97-86 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter began the same way that the third quarter ended, as the Mavericks’ run extended to 17-4, which gave them a 102-88 lead with 10:34 remaining in the game. After falling behind by 17, the Grizzlies made one last-ditch effort with a 16-3 run to cut the deficit to four points, but Dallas answered with a layup by Josh Green, followed by a dagger three from Luka Doncic as the Grizzlies went on to fall 125-110.

Now for some main takeaways:

Rare Fast Start

Slow starts have been a major storyline of the Grizzlies’ young season so far, but they seemed to overcome that tonight despite the loss. They began this game shooting 28% before a barrage of threes, and the hustle plays that led to those shots, turned the tide in their favor. This explosion came after the Grizzlies shot just 33.3% from the field and 30.3% from three, while averaging only 22.7 points per game in their three previous first quarters.

The team shot 6-13 from three in the first and 14-24 overall against Dallas, which was a far cry from their previous three games. Also, they scored 30 points in the first quarter for the first time this season and led at the end of the first quarter for the first time since the season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The common denominator? Desmond Bane. Bane shot 2-2 from three and 5-6 overall in the first quarter, including four assists from Marcus Smart. The common theme for the Grizzlies this season has been playing from behind for most of every game, and unfortunately, that trend continued against the Mavericks, as they never led again since they relinquished their lead in the early part of the second quarter.

The Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane Duo

Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane finally had their breakout “duo” game that everyone has been waiting for. The Grizzlies have struggled to score consistently this season, and their top two guys not being good in the same game has been a major reason why. After not having any game where they both scored 20 points this season, the duo finally broke through against the Mavericks, with both scoring over 30 points each, including 20 points each before the end of the third quarter.

Add in that Marcus Smart scored 23 points and added nine assists, and you would think the Grizzlies finally prevailed with their first victory of the season. However, no one else scored in double figures, and the bench scored only 13 points total, as the rest of the team shot 28.9% from the field.

If the Grizzlies want to have any chance to turn around their early season struggles, especially with as many guys as they have out, they will need this duo to produce consistently with help from others. The defense took a step back last night, as well. See more on that below:

Start, Stop, and/or Continue

Stop: Allowing teams to shoot open threes at will. This has been the Grizzlies’ style of defense in the Taylor Jenkins era, so it is no surprise that they take away the paint and make their opponents beat them from three, but some matchups are not meant for that. The Dallas Mavericks’ offensive style thrives on them shooting many threes, and they shot 23-47, including making 15 in the first half. That defensive style is fine when it works against an opponent that does not thrive from behind the arc, but some matchups do not make much sense to have that defensive style against.

Coming Up

The Memphis Grizzlies head on a west coast road trip hoping to finally win a game with bouts against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday at 8:00 PM and back-to-back games against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday at 9:00 PM CST and Sunday at 8:00 PM CST.

Final Quote

“Adversity, within it, always seems like a bad thing, but once you get through it, you become stronger. It only helps us in the long run” – Desmond Bane.