Report Card: Cleveland Demolishes Memphis, Young Grizzlies Go Down Shooting

Remember my educator comp from yesterday’s game? Tonight’s game would be akin to Day #2 of their subbing stint… “The same lovable substitute arrives to discover yesterday’s lesson plan covered today’s test.” So no, rather than fractions on the brain… Most students can’t get the image of a lawyer snatched off the toilet removed from their hands.

Look how is it my fault the teacher had the Jurassic Park in her DVD collection? What am I supposed to do? Not watch it? Yeah, right.

All that to say, Memphis looked ill-prepared for their opponents… and over-matched by their level of play. The Cavaliers’ beatdown of the Grizzlies started from the opening tip. They came out of the first whistle like they got shot out of basketball-team-sized canon. This made it near impossible to stop them once the Cavs got going.

Still, the Grizzlies never gave up. What’s more? They were damn certain that if they went down Monday, they’d go down swinging. Remember… we’re grading using the rubric from Monday alright? Seeing this may be my last opportunity to grade these young Grizzlies this summer, I may as well abuse the power right? Let’s get to shaping future generations!

Jake LaRavia – E (16 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 5-12 3PT)

Now this is the kinda of growth I’m talking about! It was yet another performance in which he tried to do his best Kyle Anderson impersonation. Slo-Mo often filled up the stat sheet in this fashion, but I don’t think he ever had this skillset.

Deadly three-point shooter, Kyle is not.

LaRavia, though, is a complete marksman with the ball. At least that’s how they packaged him out of college. After a couple single trey games this summer I was starting to worry.

These weren’t your typical single three point games where you go something like 1 of 3 either. No Jake was going 1 of 9. Not only is that not what a “shooter” does, it’s an easy way to shoot yourself out of game. Instead he went 5 of 12 from beyond the arc at a 41.7% clip. I see LaRavia out there hooping, and the first thing that comes to mind is a sense of pride.

Which may be weird… But it does my heart good when Grizzlies’ players get the Summer League assignment. Seeing LaRavia continue and develop from game to game is something worth awarding.

Tarik Biberovic – N (2 PTS, 2 REB, 1-4 FG)

I’m not big on beating a guy while he’s down so I’ll do my best to be gentle with the Turk. Simple fact is, when you’re starting over GG Jackson you can’t crap the bed like this. When you consider the level at which Jackson has been hooping? There’s no way they can develop both their draft picks at the same time. They may be better stashing him, as Biberovic may have zero interest in playing in the NBA. You wouldn’t need long to convince me after that performance.

Jacob Gilyard – S (6 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST, 1 BLK)

It’s time to acknowledge the player who may be the most consistent of all these guys so far this summer. Gilyard has been the definition of a glue guy for this roster. More than that, he actually is capable hooper. A glue guy that also is an above-average contributor is a luxury most teams aren’t going to find in their 4th string PG. A two-way contract, I would like to see him kept on if possible. As a “break in case of emergency” option to run the point if needed. Gilyard is the kind of player that is worth keeping around in this role. Considering his familiarity with the system, at this point it’s a no-brainer to me.

The Coaching Staff’s Yellow(?) Polos: U

I’m not going to say much about them… but it does seem an awful lot like that was a normal yellow once upon time. Now? Well, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a color resemble regurgitated scrambled eggs more. Gross.