Insider Insights: Grizzlies Effort Falls Short—Again—Versus the Cavs

The Grizzlies returned two players to the lineup after only having eight guys available for their last game against the Sacramento Kings. Also, two additional players were added to the roster on 10-day contracts in Tosan Evbuomwan and Trey Jemison. John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. returned from injury to the starting lineup with Scotty Pippen Jr., Santi Aldama, and Jaren Jackson Jr.

The Grizzlies’ starters began the game shooting 5-8 from the field to take an 11-6 lead but Cleveland recovered quickly making their next four shots as they responded with a 9-0 run to take a 15-11 lead into the first break. The teams traded leads for the rest of the quarter with no team leading by more than five points before ending the first quarter tied at 27.

The Grizzlies initiated a 7-0 run to begin the second quarter and continued their run into a 14-3 run to take a double-digit lead at 41-30 with 7:27 remaining in the quarter. The Cavaliers cut the Grizzlies lead to five but the Grizzlies withstood their run and went into halftime leading 58-51. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Vince Williams Jr. scored in double figures in the first half with 13 points and 11 points respectively. Each of the other staters had 8 points each.

.@spippenjr + @konchjitty55 shakin things up a bit. pic.twitter.com/CWxaNaht2z

— Grind City Media (@grindcitymedia) February 2, 2024

The Cavaliers cut the Grizzlies’ lead to two points early in the third quarter before the Grizzlies extended their lead back to 7 points. The Cavaliers then responded with an 8-0 run to take their first lead since the first quarter at 73-72 with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter. The rest of the third quarter consisted of the teams trading leads ending with the Cavaliers leading 81-80 going into the fourth.

After the Grizzlies took the lead at 84-81 the Cavaliers responded with a 15-7 run led by former Grizzly Sam Merrill to take a 5-point lead. The Grizzlies then went on a 5-0 run to tie the score at 96 for the final time before the Cavaliers closed the game on a 12-5 run to win 108-101.

The Grizzlies gave a valiant effort once again but fell short so here’s the main takeaway:

Trey Jemison’s First Real NBA Minutes

Following the Grizzlies signing Memphis Hustle standout, Matthew Hurt, to a 10-day contract just hours before Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings the team announced the signings of big men Tosan Evbuomwan and Trey Jemison on Tuesday. With the Grizzlies returning a couple of players to their depleted lineup the chance of the guys playing was unknown until Xavier Tillman was ruled as doubtful during the first quarter with knee soreness.

Trey Jemison then entered the game at the 2:53 mark of the first quarter and got a block on Jarrett Allen one minute later followed by a rebound on the Grizzlies’ next defensive possession. Jemison ended the first quarter with two rebounds and one block. That immediate production wasn’t shocking considering rebounding is his specialty as he led the NBA G League in rebounds per game (12.4) and averaged one block before signing a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards recently.

MEET EM 🚫

welcome to the party, @TallT_23 pic.twitter.com/JAgXCK1xIN

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 2, 2024

Trey Jemison got his first points in the NBA with an and-one opportunity early in the second quarter after not producing any stats in his brief stint with the Wizards (less than a minute played in two games). He ended the first half with 3 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block in 9 minutes of action.

JIT BLOCK
FIRST NBA BUCK FOR @TallT_23 ✅ pic.twitter.com/b9NI7WPqbt

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 2, 2024

Trey Jemison returned to the game at the 5:08 mark of the third quarter when Jaren Jackson Jr. picked up his 4th foul and got his first offensive rebound followed by a putback dunk to put the Grizzlies back in the lead at 74-73. Trey Jemison finished the third quarter and didn’t return in the fourth quarter to finish his first game with the Memphis Grizzlies with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block in 14 minutes of play.

allllllllllllllllllllways stick wit it.

📺: @GrizzOnBally pic.twitter.com/k0cWxeUmMm

— Grind City Media (@grindcitymedia) February 2, 2024

Outside of his stats, Trey Jemison displayed toughness with hustle plays that don’t show up in the box score to give the Grizzlies a steadying presence whenever Jaren and Santi needed a breather. Expect to see him continue to get minutes during these 10 days regardless of Xavier Tillman’s status moving forward.

Start/Stop/Continue

CONTINUE letting Jaren Jackson Jr. expand his game. He is the last standing star on the Grizzlies (for now) and has lived up to his expectations. He averaged the highest-scoring month of his NBA career in January with 24.1 points and began February where he left off. Jaren took advantage of his matchup against Cleveland’s former All-Star big man Jarrett Allen and any other small defender the Cavaliers put on him to end with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. His effort wasn’t enough to overcome defeat but he continued to display potential as the #1 option and it is impressive to see unfold it in this crazy season.

Coming Up

The Memphis Grizzlies remain home for the second night of a back-to-back against the Golden State Warriors on Friday at 7 PM CST.

Final Quote

“The fact that we’re in close games means a lot, we’ve had guys in and out and we’re staying together” – Santi Aldama