Grizzlies Drop Another to Bad Pelicans Team + Ja Out for 3 Weeks.

Colin Rafferty –

Your Memphis Grizzlies lost last night to the now 11-36, New Orleans Pelicans 133-127.

I mean c’mon man, really? The Pelicans. The team that had 3 wins on the road all season, came in and took the game away from the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter.

This is now the 11th such game that the Grizzlies have had a lead in the fourth quarter and squandered it.

Yet again they were dominated by their own mistakes, 27 points on 19 turnovers.

Nobody getting back on transition defense, the three-point line was a joke to them, the head coach ran lineups out there that made zero sense, and second chance opportunities came like candy to New Orleans.

The Pelicans had size and strength to their advantage and seemed to use it with ease, scoring 62 points in the paint.

It is becoming a trend that you can see a mile away, ‘the Grizz are going to lose this game, aren’t they?’ ‘Yep, just wait and watch as they fall apart’.

I believe that with Santi or Ja, we would be singing a different tune, but the fact is they weren’t and the team fell apart late, again.

The Grizz were led by Jaren Jackson Jr.’s 26 pt, 12 reb, and 3 assist night, he was active on the boards, and it was good to see. A guy of his size should be hovering around that stat line, but as we all well know he just isn’t that type of player.

He played his heart out though, he was fighting and trying to keep this one in the balance. Unfortunately, for him and the Grizzlies, he just isn’t the finisher that Ja is.

Jock Landale added another double-double with his 24 pt, 11 reb, 2 assist night. It might be overstated at this point, but the Aussie is a fun guy to watch.

He goes out there and puts on his hard hat and gets to work; put back dunks, three-pointers hitting the bottom of the net, fighting for rebounds, he is not a starter by any means, but he sure is a bright spot with number of big men out for the Grizz.

Cam put up 21 pts, dished out 11 assists, and grabbed 5 rebounds last night. He was 4-6 from three and 7-9 from the field, when he is on, he can hit from just about anywhere. He has also etched out a role as a distributor when Vince isn’t on the floor.

Cedric Coward started the night off great with 5 points in the first minute and half of game play but cooled off and didn’t get back to scoring until the second half. He would finish with 13 pts, 3 reb, and 3 assists.

GG Jackson was the only bright spot off the bench as he posted 15 pts, 4 reb, and 1 assist.

I like what he has been able to do these past few games, but we need to limit the amount of times he goes at the basket with 3-4 defenders in his way, he lost the ball several times last night doing so and then would turn around and get a goofy Jaren-like foul.

He is improving, but on an underperforming team.

The Grizz had no answer last night for Saqqid Bey who posted a team high 36-points. He was deadly from three and they couldn’t figure out a way to stay in front of him or limit his shot selection.

Trey Murphy III, yet again, killed the Grizzlies as well putting up 32 pts. Zion Williamson, who has only played about 29% of games since being drafted, added a 24 pt, 11 reb, double-double.

Truly outside those guys there was nobody getting a lot done, Herbert Jones who started, had 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 5 assists. Jeremiah Fears was the only guy who had double-digit points outside of their top scorers.

That is just ridiculous, a guy plays 25 minutes gets a couple of steals and blocks and the Grizzlies lose. That sums up the season they have been having so far.

I’m over this coach, I have been for a while, but his inability to recognize matchups, when to call timeouts, and putting out lineups are truly baffling. 

That would be okay if they were playing the Warriors, Knicks, Nets, or Pacers who either play a lot of small ball or are some of the shorter teams by average in the NBA. Not the Pelicans who have an average height of 6’6” maybe even taller.

The pace that he wanted to play with is nonexistent, and it doesn’t show up when they are constantly being out run on transitions.

With the season going the way it is, I wish they would just cut bait on this cat and accept defeat. Get healthy, get a new coach and see if that doesn’t change the air around Ja Morant.

At this point you are not going to get anything in return that is worth the price of Ja, so don’t do anything with it.

Last night was Déjà Vu for many Grizz fans who have watched this year.

Consistently giving up 30+ points a quarter, while you struggle to get close to 30 is a tried-and-true way to lose game after game in the fashion they have.

They are now tied for 11th in the West with the Dallas Mavericks and are a game and a half behind the L.A. Clippers for the final spot in the play-in tournament.

Losing to the worst team in the West should anger this team to play better, but we have seen them drop two to the Wizards when they were the worst in the East.

The Grizz will try to reverse the bad misfortune of the past couple of games tomorrow afternoon against the Denver Nuggets.

It is an early afternoon game, so if you are getting out in the snow covered 901, be careful, take your time, and wear the bear.

As the winter winds rise and snow and sleet hit the street of Memphis, the Grizzlies look to get out of this dream-like hibernation state and get back in the winning column.

When that might be, who knows.

As I was writing this, news from the ESPN NBA lead reporter Shams Charania came in that Ja Morant will be sidelined after sustaining an elbow injury against the Hawks. He will be OUT until February 5th, after the trade deadline.

Well there’s not much more I can say about this situation, if he is traded he will become a star for whoever gets him.