By Michael Wallace
Grind City Media
MEMPHIS – The roster reinforcements are arriving for the Grizzlies, but the frustrating search continues for chemistry and anything resembling a rhythm on offense.
For the third time in four games, coach David Fizdale has watched his rotation get a boost from a key veteran returning from injury only to see the Grizzlies’ offense sputter through a listless performance as the team struggles to fit the pieces back together. As the Grizzles move closer to good health, they seem to get further from the momentum they carried through an improbable, injury-depleted run of success.
A concerning trend continued Sunday, when James Ennis returned after missing 14 games with a strained calf just in time to see the Utah Jazz apply a strangle hold on the game to shut down Memphis in an 82-73 victory at FedExForum. The Grizzlies shot just 30.1 percent from the field, including a 2-for-23 effort from three-point range, on the way to their third loss in the past four games.
The setback to Utah came two days after catalyst Mike Conley returned from a nine-game absence after a back injury as the Grizzlies fizzled in 96-92 home loss to the Kings. In that game, Memphis missed 20 of 25 three-pointers and shot just 37.7 percent from the field. And two games before that, the Grizzlies opened the week by welcoming back Vince Carter from a hip injury with a lackluster loss in Cleveland.
The disconnect between Conley and Marc Gasol is at the core of the current dilemma. When Conley was sidelined for seven games, Gasol emerged with an MVP level of play to lead the Grizzlies to a 7-2 record and was the focal point of an offense that catered to his versatility. In the two games Conley has been back, Gasol has gone 10-for-40 from the field and has had a hard time finding a comfort zone anywhere.
“We’re going through a rough patch trying to get everybody back into the mix,” Fizdale said. “Our execution is horrendous right now. Our offense just can’t be this bad. If you tell me that between my two best players, we are going to (shoot) 7-for-38, I would have told you that you were lying. A lot of that is connection, and you can see they’re out of rhythm with each other.”
The process of juggling all of the moving parts is expected to continue this week when starting small forward Chandler Parsons is expected to come back in the next few games after sitting out a month to recover from a bruised left knee. The Grizzlies (18-11) have already started 11 different lineups this season, and each week has featured a new wrinkle to the primary rotation. They close out a four-game homestand against Boston on Tuesday before ending the month with four of the next six on the road.
Fitting all of the top pieces back together is a good problem to have but it’s also a puzzling process for the Grizzlies, who boast the NBA’s top-rated defense but is slowed by one of its least productive offenses in the league. Conley, who is shooting 5-for-23 through his first two games back, admitted he’s been trying to do too much too soon in a desperate search for a flow.
“We need to be better,” Conley said. “I think it’s just a matter of getting into a rhythm. I just need to be more patient and not try to get it all back in one or two games. Just try to understand I am coming off an injury and not try to bite off too much too early. With new faces coming in and out of the lineup, you have to establish the chemistry again. For two-and-a-half weeks, we had to play a whole different way.”
Gasol said patience will be key as players reintegrate into the rotation.
“You want them to feel comfortable and get back into a rhythm and have good timing and good games,” Gasol said. “But at the same time you want to win. And it’s not always easy to make all those things work at the same time. You just have to wait and be positive.”
TURNING POINT
The battle between the league’s top two defenses was ultimately decided in the final five minutes. That’s when Utah was finally able to string together enough baskets to pull away. The Jazz used a 16-5 spurt to break away from a game tied at 66-66 with 5:25 remaining. The Grizzlies’ shooting percentage seemed to dip as quickly as the temperature outside FedExForum in the second half. No quarter was worse than the last, when Memphis bottomed out having missed 20 of 25 shots to score just 15 points.
HIGHLIGHT REEL
There simply weren’t many offensive highlights for either team on a night when the Grizzlies and Jazz combined to miss 101 shots. But Jarell Martin’s put-back dunk off a missed jumper by Gasol showcased the second-year forward’s athleticism and energy, and also tied the score at 64-64 with 7:22 left to play.
WHO SHINED
JaMychal Green. Any semblance of rhythm was difficult to come by for anyone in a Memphis uniform Sunday, but Green collected 10 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the month and fifth of the season. Green shot 5-for-11 from the field and also had two steals and a block in 32 minutes. The upswing in rebounding has been vital for the Grizzlies, with Green averaging nearly 11 boards a game in December. His offense, on the other hand, has been a consistent struggle. Green, the Grizzlies’ starting power forward and best finisher above the rim, is shooting just 35.3 percent from the field the past 10 games.
 
 
UPSIDE/DOWNSIDE
The Grizzlies continue to get up plenty of three-point shots on most nights. They just haven’t made many of them lately. Over the past two games, Memphis is just 7-for-48 from beyond the arc. Conley and Carter accounted for the only two makes on Sunday, which was the third-lowest total of the season for the Grizzlies, who entered the contest averaging 8.2 made threes a game this season. It was also the first time this season that Grizzlies’ shooting specialist Troy Daniels played in a game without attempting at least one three-pointer.
ROTATION DEVELOPMENT
In somewhat of a surprising move, Fizdale elected to insert Daniels into the starting lineup at shooting guard alongside Conley in the backcourt and with Tony Allen, Green and Gasol in the frontcourt. The changed resulted in little if any impact on the spacing of the offense, with Daniels not even attempting a shot but picking up two quick fouls in the first five minutes of the game before going to the bench for the remainder of the half. Fizdale then started Ennis instead of Daniels in the second half, but Ennis went on to finish his first game back from injury with five points, five fouls and four rebounds in 16 minutes.
GAME RECAP
WHAT’S NEXT
Grizzlies vs. Boston Celtics at FedExForum, 7:00 pm (TV: Grizzlies Live! Pregame Show FOX Sports Southeast 6:30 p.m. presented by Pinnacle Finanical Partners/Radio: Grizzlies Pregame Show 92.9 FM ESPN, 6:30 p.m.)
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