Insider Insights: Grizzlies Fall to the Jazz Again

The Grizzlies continued to battle as they have for every game this season aside from their first matchup against the Jazz, but they fell short once again and remain winless at home.

The Grizzlies began the game by hitting five of their first seven shots from the field as they jumped out to an early seven-point lead. The Jazz then flipped the Grizzlies’ 13-6 lead with a 13-6 run of their own to tie the game at 19 with 4:25 remaining in the first quarter. After Utah took their first lead of the game, both teams traded baskets for the rest of the quarter, ending with the Jazz leading 34-32.

The Jazz extended their lead to 13 points in a little under two minutes to begin the second quarter before the Grizzlies made a 13-7 run to cut their deficit down to seven points at 54-47. The Grizzlies could not get under the seven-point deficit the rest of the quarter as the Jazz blitzed them from behind the three-point line by hitting 12 of 21 on their way to a 76-63 halftime lead.

The Jazz continued to extend their lead to as many as 21 points after the ejection of Jaren Jackson Jr. Both Jaren and coach Taylor Jenkins received technical fouls (two by Jaren which led to the ejection) with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter after a foul was not called on a putback by Jaren. However, the ejection helped spark needed energy into the team as they responded from the 21-point deficit with a 15-2 run to cut their deficit down to eight at the end of the third quarter at 103-95.

The Grizzlies continued that run into the fourth quarter as they quickly cut the lead down to a single-possession game with a little under nine minutes remaining in the game and tied the game at 111 with 6:30 remaining. However, with the Grizzlies trailing 120-119 late in the fourth, a turnover by Jacob Gilyard led to a layup by Jordan Clarkson. That was then followed by a missed three by David Roddy and a dagger three by Jordan Clarkson to seal the win for the Jazz at 127-121.

That loss not only kept the Grizzlies winless at home, but it was also the Utah Jazz’s first road win of the season.

Now for some takeaways:

Starting Point Guard Jacob Gilyard

With Ziaire Williams ruled out with a hip injury, Taylor Jenkins decided to insert Jacob Gilyard into the starting lineup, and it paid off. Gilyard helped the Grizzlies get off to a good start as they scored the first 7 points of the game, including a made three and an assist from him. He provided a steady presence at the point guard position that appeared to help get the team going offensively as they shot 52% on 8 assists in the first quarter.

”Gilly” continued that efficiency throughout the first half as he entered halftime with seven assists to only one turnover, helping the Grizzlies to tie their most points in the first half this season with 63 points. An unexpected starter for this matchup turned out to be what the Grizzlies needed on the offensive end of the floor as the team assisted 15 of their first 25 made baskets.

Jacob Gilyard to Grizz fans: pic.twitter.com/HypAhpHE5i

— Parish Sharkey (@DaOne_PShark) November 11, 2023

His efficient performance continued in the second half as his shooting combined with his 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio helped the Grizzlies rebound from a 21-point deficit late in the third quarter to a single-digit game entering the 4th quarter.

GILLY DA KID. LET IT RIDEEEEEE pic.twitter.com/eSgHugRMOp

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 11, 2023

However, Gilyard did commit a late-game turnover when the team was down by one point with 1:44 remaining which flipped the momentum in the Jazz’s favor. Unfortunately, that turnover will probably overshadow his impressive first game as a starter.Gilyard finished his first start of the season with 14 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and shot 50% from the field including 4-9 from three.

Offensive Efficiency

The Grizzlies entered this game ranked dead last in the NBA in Offensive Efficiency and 21st in points per game this season but scored their 2nd-most points in the first quarter this season with 32 points. The efficiency continued throughout the first half as the team scored 63 first-half points.

island work. whew @DBane0625 pic.twitter.com/F5cdHw5CLK

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 11, 2023

Desmond Bane finished with a season-high of 37 points, and the Grizzlies reached their season-high in points by the 6:04 mark of the fourth quarter with 114 before ending the game with 121 points. Also, they tied their season high of 19 made threes. Unfortunately, they gave up 18 threes to the Jazz, including the dagger by Jordan Clarkson that negated their impressive offensive performance.

Start/Stop/Continue

Stop giving up open threes. It is a broken record at this point. Utah shot 18-37 from three after hitting 22 threes in the first matchup last week. It is a continuing trend that haunted the team even when the offense was finally flowing in the right direction.

Coming Up

The Grizzlies will continue to look for some wins as they head out to Los Angeles to take on both LA teams. First, they play the new-look Clippers on Sunday at 2:30 PM CST before playing their third NBA In-Season Tournament game against the Lakers on Tuesday at 9:30 PM CST.

Final Quote

“The interactions right now with the officials are complete disrespect” – Taylor Jenkins