Hornets embarrass Grizzlies in blowout
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – As the regular season winds down, and with every timeout due to frustration and disappointment, conventional wisdom suggests that Grizzlies interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff is performing in real time what the franchise will do this offseason.
Bickerstaff is searching in games, and the Grizzlies’ player development exercise appears to require the front office to perform a major mining expedition this summer.
The Grizzlies finished off a threegame road trip Thursday night with a beyond-embarrassing 140-79 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Memphis began the game in the Spectrum Center much as it did the night before when it trailed by 35 points before suffering a lopsided loss.
Bickerstaff ’s expectation was to see professional pride and spirit from the Grizzlies’ young players looking to make a good final impression on the season. But he was sorely mistaken, and that became evident just eight minutes into the game when the Grizzlies fell behind 24-6 and looked inept in all facets of the game.
One of Bickerstaff’s early timeout messages centered on basically challenging his players’ collective manhood: This supposed bounce-back game quickly shifted from a focus on Xs and Os and turned into demand to show pride, heart and a desire to not be embarrassed.
Yet an early 10-poiont deficit swelled to 26 and reached 55 points in the third period.
A disinterested Memphis squad trailed 112-57 entering the fourth quarter, and fell behind by as many as 65 points.
The Grizzlies began the game by missing 7 of their first 8 shots and committing three turnovers. On the defensive end, they had no answers for Hornets guard Kemba Walker deft shooting and play-making.
Walker put on a scoring exhibition for a Hornets crowd that can only look forward to the NBA draft lottery instead of a playoff berth. Walker’s game-high 46 points was filled with step-back jump shots and pull-up 3-pointers in one-on-one play. He converted 13 of 18 shots, including 10 3-pointers, and finished perfect from the free throw line on 10 attempts.
Simply put, Walker owned the playground with constant cheers coming from the crowd. The Grizzlies only heard jeers — some from their bench because of a lack of effort, energy and execution.
Grizzlies guard Tyreke Evans returned after missing the previous two games for rest. But his 16 points on 7of-11 shooting were hardly enough to keep his team competitive.
Memphis lost its third straight and 22nd in the past 23 outings. The organization sat center Marc Gasol against the Hornets on the second night of a back-to-back, a maintenance program that began following the AllStar break.
Forward Chandler Parsons continued his season-long maintenance program of not playing in back-to-back games.
The Grizzlies’ strategy of resting key players and showcasing their young talent in an injury-riddled season is geared toward possibly getting the league’s top overall draft pick in June.
However, Hornets coach Steve Clifford arguably put it best when justifying not totally going young after falling out of playoff contention.
“With younger players, you don’t just throw guys in there just to watch them. It’s not fair for them, and it’s not fair for other guys on the floor,” Clifford said. “The team has to be organized.”