The gang that can’t shoot straight
Drew Gooden is 33. He is the definition of a journeyman. He has played for 10 NBA teams. But on one of the biggest nights of the season for the Memphis Grizzlies, as the franchise tried to hang on to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, Gooden had more 3-point baskets than the entire Memphis team.
Indeed, he had three times as many 3-pointers. Gooden had three. The Grizzlies had just one.
“Our shots weren’t falling,” said Grizzlies guard Courtney Lee. No, just their hopes. The Grizzlies went on to lose to the Washington Wizards Saturday night at FedExForum, 92-83. Remember how the Grizzlies were going to come back from their three-day break all peppy and full of vigor?
That lasted exactly one game.
Saturday, the Grizzlies went right back to the sort of disengaged, sloppy basketball they had been playing. They looked exactly like the .500 team they’ve been since the all-star break.
The Wizards blew by the Grizzlies all night, outscoring them in fast-break points 26-5. They ruined Z-Bow Tie night by holding the man of the hour to five shots and six points.
And anytime the Grizzlies tried to climb back into it, tried to muster the energy to mount a comeback, they were undone by their complete inability to — this may be a little technical for some of you — put the ball in the hoop.
It’s astonishing, the inability of this team to
shoot. It likely will be what dooms them in the playoffs, when that time comes.
The Grizzlies shot 1 of 15 from beyond the arc Saturday, which translates to an almost unbelievable 6.7 percent.
Mike Conley was 0 for 5 from long distance. Lee and Jordan Adams were 0 for 2. Nick Calathes, Beno Udrih, Jeff Green and Marc Gasol missed their only shots of the night. Only Vince Carter knocked in one.
Meanwhile, the Wizards went 8 of 22 on 3-pointers, outscoring the Grizzlies 24-3.
How in the world can any team overcome that kind of deficit?
“We aren’t going to shoot 1 of 15 very often,” said Griz coach Dave Joerger.
True enough. The night before, they went 4 of 21.
It’s the gang that can’t shoot straight. And it can be traced to the ineffective work of the offseason.
The Grizzlies knew they needed shooting. They’ve forever needed shooting. So their plan was to 1) sign Carter, 2) unleash a healthy Quincy Pondexter, and 3) count on consistent contributions from Conley, Lee and Udrih.
Well, it hasn’t worked. Carter has been limping along all season. Pondexter was ineffective and then dealt. Lee and Udrih barely put up 3-pointers at this point. Conley can only do so much.
As a consequence, teams are doing what they’ve always done against the Grizzlies, what the Wizards did Saturday night.
“They don’t guard the perimeter, they clog the paint up,” said Randolph. “That’s the way every team plays us.”
And then they count on the Grizzlies to miss their open 3-point shots. And the Grizzlies usually oblige. The Grizzlies rank 29th in 3-pointers per game this season. Houston, Golden State, the Clippers and Portland rank 1-4. San Antonio is 10th.
So that’s what the Grizzlies are up against in the last five games and then the playoffs. They’re going to have to do better than they’ve done.
“It’s just a matter of that ball falling,” said Lee.
Starting Wednesday would be nice.