MEMPHIS – Marc Gasol is into planting, growing and harvesting his own fruits and
vegetables when he’s not busy pushing, prodding and pulling the Grizzlies
through a demoralizing season.
One thing he’s not into: Sugarcoating struggles.
“We’re building too many bad habits as a team now to worry about wins and
losses,” Gasol said after Tuesday’s practice in preparation for Wednesday’s game
against the Suns at FedExForum. “I think we lived on our credit too much, and
now it’s time to invest back and put money into the piggybank.”
A deposit in the victory column might be a good start.
The Grizzlies (18-41) and Suns (18-44) are in similar ruts as they enter what is
certain to be a pivotal game in the NBA standings – at least at the bottom of
them. Both Memphis and Phoenix are among a handful of teams tied for the
league’s fewest wins on the season at 18, and they both are also knotted with
the NBA’s current longest losing streak at 10 games.
For a night, at least, something has to give.
Someone has to win.
And as the injuries, losses and frustrations mount, the Grizzlies face the
additional challenge of trying to avoid the first winless February – and only
the second winless full month overall – in franchise history. Memphis has
dropped six of its last eight games by double figures, has trailed by at least
22 in five straight and is the only team in the league yet to win a road game
since the calendar flipped to 2018.
The losses have taken a significant toll on the team mentally and physically,
with five players ruled out with injuries for Wednesday’s game against the Suns.
That list includes a relatively fresh set of absences that contributed to three
straight lopsided losses to playoff contenders in Cleveland, Miami and Boston.
Grizzlies’ leading scorer Tyreke Evans will miss his third consecutive game with
a rib injury he sustained late in Friday’s loss to Cleveland. Evans’ MRI in
Miami on Sunday revealed slight cartilage damage, but he participated in
shooting and conditioning drills after Tuesday’s practice for the first time
since the injury. Evans is considered day-to-day, and interim coach J.B.
Bickerstaff indicated on Tuesday that his return to the lineup will be
determined by the level of pain tolerance Evans is able to play through.
The Grizzlies will also be without backup center Deyonta Davis, who is expected
to stay in a walking boot for a few more days as he recovers from a left ankle
sprain he suffered in the second half of Monday’s loss in Boston. In addition,
Memphis remains without Chandler Parsons (illness) and Wayne Selden (knee), who
have not played since the All-Star break.
Those issues cut farther into a rotation that was short on experienced depth and
has had an adverse effect on ambitions to develop younger players, many of whom
have struggled or have been wildly inconsistent while playing extended minutes.
“It’s a lot of frustration about that, but I think the commitment to what we’re
trying to get done is still strong,” Bickerstaff said. “You look at the youth
we’re putting on the floor. We’re building character and we’re building quality
NBA players for the long term. We could very easily shut down and let guys just
go out and jack up bad shots. But we’re focusing on building long-term NBA
professionals.”
That building process has been intertwined with breaking points. Rookie swingman
Dillon Brooks had his best month in January, when he averaged 11.5 points on
49.6-percent shooting overall and a 43.2-percent clip from three-point range to
earn a spot in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend.
Subsequently, amid injuries elsewhere that forced his move from small forward to
shooting guard, Brooks is closing out his least efficient month in February.
He’s still scoring in double figures at 10.4 points a game, but his shooting has
dipped to 36.4 percent overall and 25 percent on threes.
“It’s hard and it’s frustrating, because nobody wants to be losing this many
games,” Brooks said. “I’m learning from the ups and the downs, and trying to get
myself out of the multiple walls I’ve been hitting throughout the season. I’m
just trying to learn new things, trying to cut more, trying to play harder
defense. And even though I’m not taking as many shots, I’ve gotten used to that.
I’ve got to score multiple ways and different arrays, and I’ve got to be focused
on my shot when I take it.”
Third-year forward Jarell Martin has stumbled through a similar adjustment in
recent games, moving from power forward into Brooks’ available spot as the
starting small forward. The transition has required more ball-handling
responsibilities and defensive matchups on quicker players, which has caused
Martin to struggle for stretches with fouls and turnovers in recent games.
Learning through losses and mounting injuries isn’t an ideal situation. Couple
that with the fact that the February schedule also featured eight of the
previous nine games against teams either firmly in playoff position or on the
cusp of it. And the rest of the schedule won’t exactly allow the Grizzlies to
ease into the offseason as the franchise’s focus starts to shift toward the May
15 NBA draft lottery.
After a two-game set at home that continues with Friday’s visit from the
Nuggets, the Grizzlies close out the season with 13 of their final 21 games on
the road, which also includes four back-to-back sets. For now, players and
coaches simply want the relief that comes with getting a win. The Grizzlies
haven’t tasted victory since beating the Suns 120-109 on Jan. 29 at FedExForum.
Since then, losses have piled up against Indiana, Detroit, Toronto, Atlanta,
Utah, OKC (twice), Cleveland, Miami and Boston. It’s left the Grizzlies with
their second losing streak of 10 or more games this season, which marks the
first time the franchise has endured multiple, double-figure skids in a season
since the 1999-2000 season in Vancouver.
“It’s hard to deal with,” said forward JaMychal Green, who has provided a recent
spark with five double-doubles in his last seven games, including a season-high
21 points and 11 rebounds Monday in Boston. “The way we’re losing is not a good
feeling. We have to keep our head up and continue to fight. We just can’t go out
of the season losing every game. We have to have pride for ourselves and go out
there.”
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis
Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Michael Wallace are solely his own and do
not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations
staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known
to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the
access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the
media.
Player: Dillon Brooks
Player: Deyonta Davis
Player: Tyreke Evans
Player: Marc Gasol
Player: JaMychal Green
Player: Jarell Martin
Player: Chandler Parsons
Player: Wayne Selden
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