The Grizzlies slide continued last night, as they dropped a must have home game to the Nets. Memphis is now 3-11 in their last 14 games, on a current 4 game losing streak, and sit at 18-20 on the year after a 15-9 start. A home game with a below .500 Brooklyn team is what the Grizzlies needed, but they came up short.

Observations

1. Shooting Woes

The Grizzlies shot 5/24 from three last night, a hit rate of 20.8%. Mike Conley went 3/6 from beyond the arc, meaning the rest of the team was just 2/18 from distance. Jaren Jackson Jr., Kyle Anderson, and Garrett Temple were all 0/3 behind the arc.

The Grizzlies simply cannot withstand such a poor shooting performance in a game. The offense isn’t capable of creating enough points in other ways, so this team needs to hit their three-point attempts.

Reinforcements are on the way, as the team has acquired Justin Holiday from Chicago.

2. Jaren Jackson Jr. Continues to Grow

JJJ has primarily scored in three ways this season; baby hooks close to the rim, driving, and hitting threes. Last night Jackson Jr. showed off his solid touch from a bit further out than we have typically seen.

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Also, I’m a sucker for blocked three-pointers. They’re pretty rare, as it is difficult to extend enough to get a hand on the ball from a shooter’s release point. Luckily Jackson Jr. has ridiculous length.

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3. Death By Benches

The Grizzlies’ bench did not do its part to counter balance the Nets reserves. The entire Memphis bench scored 20 points last night, while DeMarre Carroll alone scored 20 off the bench for the Nets. No member of the Grizzlies bench cracked double digits, while Carroll, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Shabazz Napier all had at least 10 points.

Dinwiddie and Napier combined for 23 points, and a combined 13/14 from the line. The entire Grizzlies team went 11/15 from the line last night.

Questions

1. What is Going on with Mike Conley?

Conley has been battling a hamstring issue for a little while, but there was serious cause for concern regarding his health after the matchup with the Pistons. Conley went 0/8 from the field and didn’t get to the line at all, resulting in a scoreless outing.

He suffered a shoulder injury which clearly affected his shooting. Heading into the game against the Nets, Conley was listed as questionable.

Well, he played, and by the looks of it he was 100% healthy, at least for the night. Conley finished with 31 points on 10/20 shooting from the field, including 3/6 from deep and 8/9 from the line. It was rather surprising to see given the scoreless outing due to a shooting shoulder injury just two nights before.

But the question still remains, and begs, how injured is he? It defies logic that a shoulder injury could result in a scoreless outing, only to be followed up by an efficient 31 point outburst the next game. Is the shoulder, like the hamstring, going to be a linger issue for the foreseeable future? Will Conley’s game to game performances be so volatile moving forward? What are the odds Conley gets shut down for an extended period of time?

2. Where Does the Rotation Go Now?

With Wayne Selden and MarShon Brooks being shipped out of town the night before, rotation spots were up for grabs against the Nets. This resulted in a return of Jevon Carter to the floor for the Grizzlies. The more interesting factoid, perhaps, is that Carter received 11 minutes to Shelvin Mack’s 4. Does this mean Carter is now ahead of Mack in the backup point guard role?

And how does J.B. Bickerstaff plan to integrate Justin Holiday into the rotation? It seems unlikely Holiday will be thrust into the starting lineup, but how many lineup configurations will feature Holiday? How many minutes per game will Holiday see?

Prediction

This Losing Streak Gets Ugly

The Grizzlies next 8 games are at San Antonio, at New Orleans, hosting San Antonio, at Miami, at Houston, hosting Milwaukee, at Boston, and at Toronto. None of those games are certain wins.

Houston, Milwaukee, Boston, and Toronto – half of the matchups during the 8 games – are arguably the four best teams in basketball not named the Warriors. The Spurs are 1st in the NBA in net rating since the beginning of December. The Heat are 7th.

0-8 is possible. 2-6 is very possible. This is a really dangerous 8 game stretch for Memphis.