SAN FRANCISCO – With a franchise record-tying winning streak immediately followed by a season-long losing skid, some challenging questions have naturally surfaced for the Grizzlies.
Among the most important queries are ones they’re asking of themselves.
“How do we respond?” swingman Dillon Brooks posed as the Grizzlies grapple with their first three-game losing streak of the season. “Bring a sense of urgency for the next game. Correct the mistakes because it will almost be exactly the same game with Golden State.”
If any team in the league can command the Grizzlies’ full attention and most committed effort in search of a turnaround, it’s the nemesis Warriors. Memphis enters Wednesday’s matchup with the defending NBA champions coming off losses to the Lakers, Suns and Kings and attempting to salvage what remains of the longest road trip of the season. The nine-day trek wraps up Friday against Minnesota.
A Grizzlies team that found multiple ways to win while streaking into 2023 with 11 straight victories has since dropped three consecutive games in uniquely disappointing fashion.
In Friday’s loss to the Lakers, the Grizzlies failed to finish in the closing minutes and squandered a double-digit lead in a losing effort for the first time this season. Sunday’s setback in Phoenix saw the Grizzlies stumble off to a brutal start, then cut a 29-point deficit to two before their furious rally fell short on the final possession.
Against the Kings on Monday, a historic shooting performance to start the game set the tone for a 33-point victory that resulted in the Grizzlies’ second-worst loss of the season. With All-NBA point guard Ja Morant and leading rebounder Steven Adams sitting with ankle and knee soreness, respectively, Sacramento tied an NBA record with 12 made threes in the first quarter.
The shorthanded Grizzlies rallied to take the lead briefly in the second half but lacked the legs and depth to finish on the second night of a back-to-back set of road games. The common denominators linking those three losses aren’t difficult to deduce.
I wouldn’t say that I haven’t seen anything. Just continue to play hard, play together and just try to find a groove a little bit earlier in the game. Obviously, we’ve been having our struggles, whether it’s early in the games, late in games, second halves or whatnot. We just have to come out, play hard and play together.
After ascending to the NBA’s top-rated defense earlier this month, the Grizzlies have since had sluggish starts despite also having been one of the league’s best first-quarter scoring teams. Memphis was outscored in the opening frame of all three games, with the Kings and Suns each holding 14-point edges and the Lakers owning a three-point advantage after the first quarters.
Another issue has been opponent three-point shooting, which has been a recurring issue the few times the Grizzlies have fallen into rough patches in an otherwise breakout season. Powered largely by the Kings’ 22 made threes on Monday, the Grizzlies last three opponents have outscored them by a combined 48 points from beyond the arc on this road trip.
“I wouldn’t say that I haven’t seen anything,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said when asked what he must get from his team that he may not have seen so far on the trip. “Just continue to play hard, play together and just try to find a groove a little bit earlier in the game. Obviously, we’ve been having our struggles, whether it’s early in the games, late in games, second halves or whatnot. We just have to come out, play hard and play together.”
Facing the Warriors requires every bit of that togetherness – and beyond.
Despite their overall struggles with injuries and chemistry this season, Golden State (23-24) has one of the league’s best home records at 17-6 and have had success against Memphis. The Warriors eliminated the Grizzlies in the second round of the playoffs last season in six games and claimed a 123-109 victory last month in their heated Christmas Day showdown.
With the Grizzlies (31-16) second in the Western Conference standings and the Warriors in the 10th spot, these teams could be headed for another postseason matchup in the early rounds. But both teams expect a playoff level of intensity any time they meet on the court.
For now, the Grizzlies are focused on cleaning up some immediate issues that have surfaced with their inconsistent play on the road. Getting back Morant and Adams as soon as possible would significantly help the cause. Jenkins said both were dealing with soreness that stemmed from Sunday’s game, but that neither issue was considered serious. Adams will miss his second consecutive game Wednesday, but Morant was not listed on the team injury report issued Tuesday and he is expected to be available against the Warriors.
“This is going to help us a lot, but we’ve just got to be better,” Morant said of a stretch in which three of the past four games were decided by one possession. “Just getting more comfortable in this situation and continuing to learn how to execute down the stretch. You have games you have to dig down deep and find a way to win. Right now, it starts with us being better early on.”
The Grizzlies have been better, and they know the path back.
Eleven straight victories provided proof.
Three consecutive losses offer clarity on needed corrections.