Report card: Grizzlies fight off sluggish start to knock off short-handed Trail Blazers

With the Grizzlies at risk of dropping their second consecutive game to a sub .500 record team, Desmond Bane ensured that the Portland Trail Blazers would fall short in their upset attempt. 

The Grizzlies shooting guard registered 30 points, which included several three-pointers in the fourth quarter, to eventually put the finishing touches on Portland by a score of 119-109. However, the performance of the entire Grizzlies squad seemed to be disinterested until the midway portion of the final frame. 

The disappointment of potentially losing to an extremely inferior team seemed to be a factor in the team’s revival of sorts in the latter portion of Tuesday’s game. Here’s a breakdown of a few players that stood out to me as the game progressed. 

Luke Kennard- 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 6-11 FG, 6-10 3 PT, +24

The league’s leader in three-point percentage showed why last night, connecting on 6 more from distance in last night’s victory. He’s been a revelation of sorts for the Grizzlies, as he’d been relegated to DNP-status by the Clippers. While 10 threes attempted would seem like a high volume for anyone else outside of Bane for the Grizzlies, the team will gladly make an exception for the efficient Kennard. What impressed me the most about Luke last night was that he moved really well without the ball to put himself in beneficial situations to convert from long-range. That will come in handy for the Grizzlies when the playoffs start on April 15th.

Grade-A

Desmond Bane- 30 points, 12-22 FG, 5-12 3 PT, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, +2

Grizzlies star Ja Morant spoke recently on not always being the featured option in the Grizzlies offense. Last night certainly featured Desmond Bane as the primary scorer for Memphis.

“Downhill Des” consistently got to the rim last night, forcing the Trail Blazers to play off on him. And when that happened, well, those 5 threes also showed Portland that they really had no way of stopping him.

Bane’s versatility gives Memphis another playmaker teams must account for, or pay the consequences otherwise. His assists rate is at a career high, and I think that’ll be important for Memphis when Morant or others put up big games in the playoffs.