Grizz-Jazz 1/8/2023

Buckets

It has been almost 5 years since Mike Conley was traded away from the Memphis Grizzlies, yet any time we play the Jazz I find myself a little nostalgic. Mike helped build the original run to greatness in the Grit and Grind era and I have no doubt his number 11 will hang next to Zbo’s 50 after he retires. Watching Captain Clutch run the floor remain some of my favorite memories as he hit clutch threes, orchestrated big wins, and lead those Gritty teams deep into the playoffs. However on this night, it was all about the current Grizz. Mid way through the 3rd quarter Brevin Knight made the comparison of Mike Conley with current floor general Tyus Jones. With Ja out on a rest night, Stones stepped in and harkened back to the days of Conley with timely steals, driving and-1 layups, and clutch threes. Tyus was all over the floor as a quiet assassin and helped down a fiesty Jazz team who caught on fire in the second half. Tyus was so smooth in the victory finding open shooters and grabbing rebounds from amongst the trees in the lane. Stones was huge on both ends of the floor in yet another key Grizzlies win, beating the Jazz 123-118 at the FedEx Forum. That’s 6 wins in a row for the Beale Street Bruins!

Jaren Jackson Jr. blocked just about every lay up Jordan Clarkson tried for Utah, so much that the refs had to get involved when Clarkson took a swing at Desmond’s head on a drive out of frustration. The outburst lead to his ejection, a chorus of boos from the home crowd, and a very unwise challenge for Bane to “meet me out back.” Sorry Jordan but Desmond is built like a D-1 running back and I don’t like your chances sir. All the outburst did was rally the troops and the Grizz began to play inspired basketball. Clarkson had scored 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter so his ejection was very costly for the road team. Jaren took advantages of mismatches all night, whether it was the undersized Rudy Gay or the slow footed Kessler, he found success all over the floor finishing with 19 points on the night, including 8 in the fourth quarter highlighted by a monster dunk with 2 minutes to go.. The Block Panther imposed his will defensively too as he had 5 blocks and 2 steals, a total of 8 solo stops, before fouling out with 8 seconds left in the game. Jaren’s aggressiveness has been working in his favor of late, a welcomed treat, giving off Defensive Player of the Year vibes once again.

David Roddy continued his growth and is running the floor really well right now. Roddy finished with 7 points but his defensive presences was much needed to quell a Jazz rally in the second half. Ziaire Williams’ resurgence continues as he is finally looking the part of the contributor he was last year. A couple of high flying dunks and corner threes were nice to see from Z on a night he was needed without Ja. Xavier Tillman stepped up in a huge way in the absence of Steven Adams. X continued his great play scoring 9 points but had 3 steals on the defensive end. His presences was needed as he 8 grabbed rebounds in the style of Big Kiwi himself. Big credit to the bigs for the win tonight – Santi Aldama, X, and Jaren – as they stepped up on the glass in the absence of Steven Adams .

Credit the Jazz for keeping it close throughout but the home team was too much in the end. Was it the pretties win? Absolutely not. The Grizzlies could have been tighter defensively in the second half, getting beat many times due to indecisiveness on pick and rolls. The Jazz outscored the Grizz in the third, a quarter in which the Grizzlies typically pull away this season. Either way, a win is a win and the Grizzlies’ win streak continues.

Fun basketball is back in a major way. Jaren is becoming the offensive player we have all been longing to see. He is imposing his will when guarded by smaller players and running by bigger defenders in space. Tonight’s win was a scrappy, tough, and hard fought victory. The Jazz shot 51% on the night from the floor, out rebounded the Grizz 46-39, and out scored the NBA’s best team in the paint 64-58. By all these metrics it should have been a win for Utah. Yet the Grizz fought, hustled, and found ways to win. The effort was great to see on what felt like a sleepy night in the Forum. Wins like these will pay dividends down the stretch as the calendar turns to summer months and we get playoff basketball. Role players winning games for the Grizz like tonight will be vital as the season moves along.

Great way to start a home back to back as they take on San Antonio on both 1/9/2023 and again at home on1/11/2023.