Insider Insights: Grizzlies Falter Late to Lose 7th Straight

After a whirlwind past two days with the trade deadline deals that involved the Grizzlies trading Xavier Tillman Sr. and David Roddy to the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns, respectively, the Grizzlies returned to the court against the Chicago Bulls.

Jaren Jackson Jr. opened the game with a three-pointer to begin the scoring for the Grizzlies as he scored 10 of the Grizzlies’ first 18 points leading to an early 18-12 lead. The Bulls responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead before Jaren Jackson Jr. quickly offset it with another three-point make. After the teams traded leads and tied each other on three separate occasions, GG Jackson II went on a 6-0 scoring run to help the Grizzlies lead 31-27 to end the first quarter.

GG Jackson II extended his scoring run to 11 straight points with a three-pointer followed by a driving score to open the second quarter as the Grizzlies took their largest lead of the half at 38-29. The rest of the second quarter consisted of the Bulls making runs and the Grizzlies not allowing them to get no closer than within 2 points before the Grizzlies took a 56-52 halftime lead.

Jaren Jackson Jr. shot 7-12 from the field, including 3-6 from three to lead the Grizzlies 18 points at the half. GG Jackson II scored 14 points on 5-10 shooting, including 3-4 from three to go along with 5 rebounds at the half. Vince Williams Jr. fell just short of scoring double digits in the first half with 9 points along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals as he was a jack-of-all-trades.

runaway. pic.twitter.com/S4hjQ6qrjj

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 9, 2024

The Bulls opened the third quarter on a 6-3 run to cut the Grizzlies’ lead to 59-58 before Jaren Jackson Jr., again, made the basket to stop the run followed by a three-pointer to extend the Grizzlies’ lead to 64-58. The Grizzlies went on to extend their lead to as many as 8 points before the Bulls closed the gap to one point to end the third quarter with the Grizzlies leading 81-80.

The Bulls took the lead early in the fourth quarter but GG Jackson II led the Grizzlies’ charge in quickly reversing their fortune then Jaren Jackson Jr. returned to the court to extend the Grizzlies back to 6 points at 93-87. However, DeMar DeRozan wouldn’t allow the Bulls to go away as they responded with a 5-0 run to again cut the Grizzlies lead to one point.

Later, with the game tied at 95, an emphatic dunk from Andre Drummond followed by a layup from Coby White off a Grizzlies turnover led to the Bulls taking a 99-95 lead. The Bulls didn’t look back as they finished the game on a 23-15 run to win 118-110.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies in scoring with 28 points and GG Jackson II followed with a career-high 27 points and 9 rebounds. Vince Williams Jr. had a near triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. The Bulls had four 20-point plus scorers led by DeMar DeRozan with 30 points and followed by Andre Drummond with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Nikola Vucevic and Coby White each finished with 20 points.

As for the main takeaway:

Jacob Gilyard’s two-way tenure

This matchup against the Chicago Bulls marked the 35th game Jacob Gilyard has played with the Grizzlies this season, including 13 games as a starter. However, this matchup also marked the 46th game that Gilyard has been active on the Grizzlies roster this season which means that he only has four games remaining to play for the Grizzlies this season while on the two-way contract.

Leagues rules state “A player under a two-way contract will be permitted to be on the NBA team’s active list for no more than 50 games during the regular season, with no limit on practices, workouts or other activities with the NBA team.” So, with the Grizzlies having four games remaining until the NBA All-Star break, Jacob Gilyard’s tenure on the Grizzlies’ active roster will probably end after next Thursday’s home game against the Milwaukee Bucks as long as he is active in all those games.

With this in mind, Jacob Gilyard has made the most of his opportunity in the NBA this season with the Grizzlies in injury limbo between their top point guard options in Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, and Derrick Rose. Entering the matchup against the Bulls, Gilyard had scored in double figures in a career-high three straight games and made 12 3-pointers over that span.

Jacob Gilyard came off the bench last night and continued his consistency with two made threes and 4 assists as he finished the night with 8 points and 1 steal in 20 minutes of play.

THE GEAR SHIFT IS CRAZY pic.twitter.com/0zqvW5OijT

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 9, 2024

Overall, Jacob Gilyard has been a success story with his steady presence on the Grizzlies roster being available and ready to produce whenever his name has been called. Whether it was his 14-point, 8-assist stat line in his first start against the Utah Jazz or his 3-steal performance in his second start against the LA Clippers, Jacob Gilyard has shown that he can be productive despite his size. Assuming this is potentially the last stretch of games that he could be in a Grizzlies uniform this season, he has provided a sense of consistency for a team that has been decimated with injuries and it is appreciated.

Start/Stop/Continue

CONTINUE using the “The City’s Park” court. It will be used six more times this season and would be nice to be used next season when Ja Morant returns to the lineup. That court truly embodies the city of Memphis and should not be limited to only the rest of this season.

👀 pic.twitter.com/Bftf2B36xr

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 8, 2024

Coming Up

The Grizzlies hit the road for a weekend trip to Charlotte to face the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday at 6:00 PM CST.

Final Quote

“I told the team to be pissed that we took another loss but be hungry and excited to learn from it.” – Taylor Jenkins