Buckets

Attention! Attention! This is an All Points Bulletin. Missing persons were last seen in Memphis, TN at 191 Beale St wearing Beal Street blue uniforms with navy blue trim wearing the numbers 8, 22, 24, and 13. If found, please return to Ja Morant at the above address. He is in desperate need of help before his back goes out from carrying this team.

What happened? After an absolute beatdown of the Milwuakee Bucks on December 15 the vast majority of the once confident Memphis Grizzlies have gone into hibernation. Ja Morant continues to tear it up, especially in the 3rd quarter where he set a career high with 22 points tonight and has not missed a step. However, his blue clad breathren are no wear to be found. To close out the third frame, Ja’s 32 and Desmond Bane’s 14 were the only Grizz in double digits. Through those 3 quarters the Grizzlies bench only mustered 17 points in what was another uninspired effort. Possession after possession the Grizzlies continued to put up 3’s at an alarming rate, shooting an abysmal 26%. Ja tried to will his team back into it in the second half, playing the entire third quarter but no one came to his aid. Phoenix built a 19 point lead in spite of Ja’s best effort and it is directly attributed to this teammates leaving him high and dry. Hustle rebounds they normally get, switches they normally make, and movement that usually happens were no where to be found tonight. A prime example was 2 minutes into the 4th quarter they allowed the shooter to get a rebound off his missed free throw . There was no rhythm tonight from either Bane or JJJ as they went a combined 0-8 from 3 and 6 for 24 from the field.

Meanwhile the Suns came in and once again dictated the pace of play, keeping the high flying home team under control. After an 8-0 run to start the game, the air was completely let out of the tires and the Grizz train screeched to halt, leading to the first home loss in over a month. Any effort that was needed to mount a comeback fizzled out as Phoenix kept hitting their shots, getting 50-50 balls, and out hustling the Grizzlies on their home court, something that does not happen. Dillon Brooks could not stop a nosebleed tonight and JJJ was out of position more often than not. Ziaire continues to struggle after returning from injury. Their was no offense outside of Ja Morant who finished with a game high 34 points while logging 31 minutes.

It is one thing to put up a flat showing on the road, especially out west against the best the Western Conference has, but at home? Come on, you have to defend the Forum. The worst home loss this season prior to this embarrassment was by 5 points to the Kings back on 11/22. The Suns whipped their tail tonight 125-108 and it was never even that close. Tonight was a let down of epic proportions. Something is going on with this team. No one is interested in playing winning basketball. I hear you, it is December, a lot of basketball left, whatever excuse you want to make. This team is just not playing together. Something is off and it is glaringly obvious in the way they have played lately. It is an embarrassing product to watch, from a team that was once so energized and confident. Gone are the days of dancing down the court, Gritty’s across the logo, and in its place is hacking defense and just plan bad shooting. Was it the hype? Did we read too many tweets about how great we were? We are not “fine” with the West right now. There is not a night in and night out elite effort that championship teams play with. In the last 3 games we have given up 35 threes and countered with only 17 of our own. The reserves came in with a better effort than any 2 starters, minus Ja, late in the 4th. Coach Jenkins has his work cut out for him. This team seems checked out and not getting any better. There is no urgency. Not a single starter had a +/- tonight forcing Coach Jenkins to clear the bench with 7 minutes left in the game. We claim to be elite on Twitter and in interviews. When will we start playing like that elite team again?

The Grizz head north of the border for their next game at Toronto on Thursday at 7:30 eastern to try and fix this mess.