The words share many of the same letters when spelled out.
But excuses and execution must never align if the Grizzlies are to complete the most daunting task facing any NBA team at this critical stage of the season.
By the time this final weekend of the regular season is over, the Grizzlies will have tipped off three games in a span of 66 hours spread over two time zones.
That process included quickly regrouping from Thursday’s exhausting 141-125 home loss to the Timberwolves in a game that started at 8:30 p.m., then boarding an overnight flight to Denver. By the time the Grizzlies settled into their hotels, it was nearly 4 a.m. local time Friday. Roughly 12 hours later, they will begin arriving at Ball Arena to face the Nuggets.
Given the travel, Mountain time zone change and rigors of adjusting to the Colorado altitude, it is widely seen across the league as a “scheduled loss” when teams play Denver on the second night of a back-to-back set. Afterward, the Grizzlies must hop back on a plane Saturday to return home for Sunday’s 2:30 p.m. matinee start in the regular-season finale against the Mavericks.
All things considered; it’s an excruciating itinerary.
Those are plenty of legitimate reasons the Grizzlies could feel unfairly victimized by the schedule-makers and at a clear disadvantage as their postseason fate hangs in the balance.
Regardless of those circumstances, interim coach Tuomas Iisalo believes his team must essentially make a clear choice amid this daunting challenge.
Either succumb to the excuses, ultimately.
Or lock in, load up and execute.
“I don’t envy the players’ part in this situation,” Iisalo said of the difficult transition between games. “It seems unreasonable to expect top-level performers, in less than 20 hours, to start another game while fighting for very important (playoff positioning). And we’re the only team coming off a back-to-back. But that is the schedule. We cannot affect that. What we can do is . . . get to Denver, get some rest and then perform as well as we can.”
That will require a much better effort defensively than the Grizzlies showed Thursday, when they surrendered a franchise-record 52 points in the third quarter to the Timberwolves. Minnesota dominated that 12-minute stretch by scoring at every level, shooting 18-of-21 from the field, 7-of-8 from 3-point range and knocking down nine of 10 free throws in the quarter.
The porous defense in that period overshadowed a strong offensive output from the Grizzlies’ star trio of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., who combined for 87 points. Aside from Scotty Pippen Jr. chipping in 16 points off the bench, Memphis didn’t get much help elsewhere on a night when its defensive intensity was largely lacking from the outset.
The Grizzlies are short on time and personnel in addressing the defensive miscues, with two of their top defenders in Brandon Clarke (knee) and Jaylen Wells (wrist) out for the season.
Wells, a breakout rookie of the year candidate and starting small forward, was back with the team Thursday after he was released from a Charlotte area hospital a day earlier. He was treated overnight for multiple injuries, including a broken right wrist, after suffering a hard fall under the basket in Tuesday’s win against the Hornets.
The loss to the Timberwolves snapped the Grizzlies three-game winning streak and pushed them back one spot to seventh in the Western Conference standings. Memphis (47-33) is in a three-way tie alongside Golden State and Minnesota, with all three teams in action Friday.
At stake with two games remaining is an opportunity to secure the No. 6 seed and a playoff spot without having to battle through the NBA’s Play-In Tournament. Currently, based on tie-breaker scenarios, the seventh-seeded Grizzlies are positioned to host the eighth-seeded Timberwolves on Tuesday in a Play-In Tournament opening night game.
Depending on outcomes in Friday’s games throughout the Western Conference, a win over Denver could move the Grizzlies to as high as fifth in the standings while a loss would drop them as low as eighth.
Memphis would own the season series tie-breakers over both Denver and Minnesota with a win Friday. That’s why the Grizzlies still embrace the tough task at hand to improve their lot.
All six of the Grizzlies’ players who logged at least 30 minutes Thursday night against Minnesota are available to play Friday against the Nuggets.
“We don’t have no choice,” Morant said as the Grizzlies departed Memphis just after midnight. “We put ourselves in this position. No complaints from me. I’m ready to get to Denver.”
Morant assured the team’s objectives are clear, even in the face of the physical and mental challenges that loom in this grueling grind to the regular season finish line.
“Play some (expletive) defense,” Morant continued. “And go get a win.”
No excuses. Just execution.