Buckets

A clash of the Western conference’s top 2 teams late Tuesday night on TNT showcased 2 of the game’s best players as well. The reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and phenom Ja Morant both showed last night why they are considered two of the best at their respective positions. The Joker finished with his second consecutive triple double, 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists, while Ja had 35 points and 10 rebounds. Jokic had amazing assist after assist, including an incredible no look, between the legs, touch pass to a cutting Bruce Brown for a 2 hand emphatic dunk, which set the tone for the Nuggets early. He is truly a second point guard and one of my favorite players to watch in the NBA. Denver jumped out early to a 2 touchdown lead and never let Memphis get back in the game, winning 105-91. Coach Malone had a great game plan to frustrate the Grizzlies as evident by Ja’s 7 turnovers and the Grizz had 3 technical fouls. Memphis was once again forced into a long range attack and finished a meager 19.6% (5-26) from beyond the arc.

Just like in OKC, our boys in Beale Street Blue struggled to be competitive on the road. A slow start against a great Denver team, the Grizz trailed 35-14 at the end of the 1st quarter, lead to an insurmountable lead the Nuggets would never give up. I know it is early in the season still, Memphis is still 19-11, but these road struggles will be concerning as the season goes forward. A rough 6-9 start on the road has been compounded by the lack of Desmond Bane’s 3 shooting ability. Having Bane on the outside opens the lane for JJJ, Adams, and Ja to slash and create. Without him, teams have been clogging the paint and limiting one of the NBA’s best teams in the paint to minimal output. Here’s hoping Christmas comes early and Desmond Bane returns sooner than anticipated as he *might* have indicated on Twitter.

Regardless, the Grizz have to dial in their focus on the road. You cannot beat good basketball teams on the road giving up 35 points in the first quarter, especially when you scrape together 14. You have to show up ready to play and keep the home crowd out of it. Come playoff time, you have to play games on the road and if you want your season to extend into the summer months, road wins are a must. The bad news is we are 4-7 on the road against the Western Conference this year, including losing the last 3 in a row. Good news is that it isn’t even Christmas yet and the Grizz are still tied for first with the Nuggets in the Western Conference, so there is time to figure it out. We have yet to be fully healthy and have our true starting 5 of Ja, Desmond, Dillon, JJJ and Adams together on the floor for meaningful basketball. I truly believe our best basketball is still ahead of us, but the sledding doesn’t get any easier. A 10 pm eastern tip on Friday night at Phoenix will be another opportunity to right the ship before one of the most meaningful match ups in Grizz history, a prime time Christmas day match up against Golden State at Oracle Arena. More on that game tomorrow but in the mean time, keep grindin’.