Grizz Look To Avoid Second Straight Loss to T-Wolves Tonight.

Colin Rafferty –

Your Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves for the second straight game tonight, after dropping the first of two games in Memphis 131-114.

The Grizz had no answer for the Wolves as they shot 53% from the field and 49% from three. Led by Anthony Edwards’ 33 point night, the Wolves were able to get good looks inside and out, and they did not miss.

Naz Reid was 6-10 from three, Dante DiVincenzo added 11 pts on 3-5 from deep, and Julius Randle was 4-5 from three adding 27 pts, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Rudy Gobert finished his night with 9 pts, but 16 rebounds, he was constantly pushing and shoving guys in the back to get these rebounds, but nothing was called.

For the Grizzlies, they were led by Ty Jerome’s 20 pt, 6 assist night. It was the first time we got to see the young guard who signed with the Grizzlies before the year.

Boy did he make a difference when he was on the floor, he looked like a guy that was in command. He rarely looked overwhelmed when handling the ball, and was good of the pick and roll, hitting shots and finding the right pass.

It goes to show, when they have someone who has experience handling the ball the game looks better, they just have had the injury season from hell and never have come back from it.

As it goes though, Santi Aldama went out and Jaren Jackson Jr. was out but is now listed as QUESTIONABLE for tonight’s game.

Jaren had been hitting the floor over the last few games, bunch of guys knocking knees, legs to the thighs, all of the above. I expect him to get out on the floor today, just had a string of games where he was beaten down, needed a day or two of rest.

If they can get him back in the lineup, I like the opportunity. It is not a great one, but it is better when you have the bigger named stars out there.

Whatever they have done in the past few games needs to be forgotten and never approached again, they have been awful defending the three-point line, and they are still shading help left and right, leaving whoever they are guarding unattended.

This will mark the last game they will play inside FedEx Forum for a week; they will hit the west coast for a 5-game road trip which includes games against the Kings, Trailblazers, Warriors, and Nuggets.

The Grizz could be lucky tonight as Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle are listed as QUESTIONABLE, that would be super helpful for the Grizz as they are just too beaten and battered to have a truly competitive team for four quarters. They have been for halves, just not yet a whole game in the last 6.

However it happens, it needs to happen now, not tomorrow, not on the road trip, they need to get a win under their belt and try to salvage any hope for this season.

Limit turnovers, be aggressive on the rebounds, and get out in transition, when they do these things well, they have opportunities to win games, when they don’t they get blown out or fall apart late.

They need Jaren’s leadership to shine tonight, he can get things going in the direction we want, but if he’s getting the goofy fouls and taking poor shot attempts, we all could be in for a long night.

All quiet on the western front in terms of the trade rumors that once surrounded Ja Morant, there has also not been any noise from his camp after he made comments about where he wants to be while doing pressers in London.

As it stands the Grizzlies have the number 7 seed in the draft, what they will do with the high draft pick remains to be seen, really it all depends on what they intend to do with Mr. Morant.

If they move on then they will need to get the best guard they can get, if not go find someone who will play a lot of time. If there is any injury history, don’t, we have had enough of that over the last 5 years.

It may be a true undertaking of a rebuild, which is believe would be stupid, there are plenty of pieces on this team, that if and when healthy can rival that of the top talent in the league, but we haven’t seen it and might not ever.

Do the little things right and the game should be able to take, throwing the ball away on consecutive possessions or taking terrible shots early in the shot clock are not the way.

Play a whole game, make it count, and hit the road with a win. The team and city could use it.

Today is the second day of Black History Month and the NBA launched the Pioneers Line for the NBA players who broke the color barrier. Teams will be wearing shirts during warm-ups that features the year 1950 and the three numbers of Chuck Cooper, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, and Earl Lloyd.

There are plenty of things that these sports organizations do to honor or celebrate different times and moments for the league, this one knocked it out of the park. It is a moment to reflect on where we were as a country and look at where it is today, yes, it is not a perfect world, but it is one where the opportunity is available to all of those who love the game.

In addition to the merch and pageantry these next few weeks will have, the NBA and the NBAPA Foundations announced the “NBA Pioneers” scholarship to support HBCU academic and athletic programs across the country.

The groundhog has spoken, 6 more weeks of winter, and the Grizzlies are hoping to Spring themselves from the grips of defeat tonight.

Tip-off is at 6:30 PM CST, you can find the game on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock.