Why Ja Morant, Grizzlies were 'disappointed' with win over Lamelo Ball's Hornets
Yesterday at 03:50 PM
All wins are equal in the standings but that is not the case in most NBA locker rooms. Some games, some wins, just matter more than others. There are off nights when things can get ugly, usually with a contender blowing out an also-ran. That script almost got flipped in the FexEx Forum though. Ja Morant’s learn-as-they-go Memphis Grizzlies (29-15) almost got caught out by LaMelo Ball’s Charlotte Hornets (11-29) and the gruff, Ja Morant-led Grizzlies were not pleased with a 132-120 win.
Taylor Jenkins suggested the postgame mood was more a sigh of relief than a celebration.
“It bothered the group a lot,” Jenkins admitted. “Luckily we did enough in the first half and were able to survive the second half.”
As for what went wrong in what should have been a comfortable win?
“Too many free throws, too many lackadaisical plays on offense and defense. Turnovers,” stated Jenkins. “We were definitely a tale of two halves. The team in the first half is reflective of who we want to be, in the second half not so much. So great talk in the locker room afterward but we’ve got to get better. Guys were definitely disappointed with our performance in the second half.”
It’s a forgivable but not unignorable slip all things considered. The Hornets worked to keep the scoreline respectable but the Grizzlies used this as a get-right game in many respects. A lack of three-point shooting has been a problem recently for example. The Grizzlies are 7-5 over the last dozen games, a substantial drop off from their early season pace.
Memphis took almost half of their 98 shots from beyond the arc against Charlotte.
“I think our volume has been down in recent games. We shot 47 (against the Hornets) which hadn’t been the case,” Jenkins noted. “You saw in the first half when we were playing with great pace and movement in the halfcourt and how we finished the half. We had a couple of transition (threes) with Luke (Kennard) and Jaylen (Wells).”
The Grizzlies are learning not to ease up on the NBA Draft lottery teams. Memphis needs the game reps after almost two years of chemistry-disrupting injuries. Jenkins just keeps preaching the benefits while implementing a new offense scheme, though there were complaints after beating Charlotte. The coaching staff even reverted to the NBA’s old faithful of offensive creation for a spell.
“When we’re playing at that speed your vision just opens up. You just see more driving lanes, more passing lanes,” Jenkins said. “Definitely stagnant in the second half. We had to use some pick and rolls to create some open threes. Thankfully there were a couple of multiple-action, keep the engine running, drive baseline, kick-out corner threes.”
The Grizzlies need to kick things into high gear to finish out the January 2025 schedule. Memphis is battling with Houston for the Western Conference’s second seed. Thankfully the next two games are both at home against two of the worst teams in the league. Zion Williamson’s New Orleans Pelicans may be a problem if they escape a snow-covered city. The Utah Jazz are already packing in the instruments before the NBA Trade Deadline.
Ja Morant and Taylor Jenkins cannot be mad at that lineup. They can only look forward to taking care of business and corrective actions. It sounded like they were on the case immediately, a good sign for fans wanting to feel a sense of urgency from a championship-level core.
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