The Portland Trail Blazers will visit the Memphis Grizzlies today after a difficult weekend of basketball. Portland was comprehensively dominated on Sunday by the Atlanta Hawks, with the game effectively over with three minutes left in the first quarter. In the end, the Hawks won 135-101. Somehow that score flattered the visitors.
The good news is that they hit the injury-riddled Grizzlies on the second night of an away-home back-to-back, with Memphis falling 117-110 to the Minnesota Timberwolves
on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, the Blazers have had two days off to think about how badly they played in Atlanta.
The Grizzlies are one spot behind the Blazers in the standings, but six games behind in the win column. Memphis is reportedly tanking, but they have won two out of the last three with wins against the lowlier Dallas Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers. Both front offices would probably appreciate a Portland win. Will the players live up to that ideal?
What You Need To Know
Portland Trail Blazers (29-33) at Memphis Grizzlies (23-37) – Wed. Mar. 3 – 5pm Pacific
How to watch via antenna or cable: See your options on the Rip City Television Network.
How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else
How to listen: Rip City Radio 620AM
Trail Blazers Injuries: Deni Avdija, Kris Murray (Questionable); Shaedon Sharpe, Damian Lillard, Caleb Love, Yang Hangsen (Out)
Grizzlies Injuries: Ja Morant, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Brandon Clarke, Zach Edey, Taj Gibson, Santi Aldama (Out)
What To Watch For
A Better Performance: The Blazers are likely to get out-shot most nights, but they need to be strong on the boards and minimize points off of turnovers. Over the last two games Portland was distressingly destroyed in those two categories. Memphis will be playing a young team with most of their veteran stars out injured, so it’s the perfect game for the Blazers to right the ship. Yes, the Blazers are young and have more than their share of injuries too, but there is no excuse for them to get out-performed by this Grizzlies team. It’s time for a good performance.
Either Shoot Better from Deep or Stop Shooting: It’s a truism in the NBA that the way to break out of a shooting slump is to keep shooting. There’s some truth to that, but you can’t have all of your shooters heaving up wayward bombs, all at the same time. The Blazers are currently second-worst in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage, and third most in three point attempts. Against the Oklahoma City Thunder, sure, light the fuse and see what happens. You have nothing to lose. Playing a highly-beatable team like Memphis, the Blazers simply can’t afford to miss 67%+ of their shots from deep on high volume. Other avenues for scoring are exploitable. We are in March, and for better or worse the Blazers will likely find themselves in the play-in. They might as well work to a more balanced strategy that could see them be more competitive for those play-in games rather than relying on one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA suddenly getting hot against all odds.
Another Statistically Good Game for Vit Krejci: With a reputation as a pure shooter coming in to Portland, Krejci’s had a rocky start shooting the ball for the Blazers. Against the Hawks he broke out a bit, shooting 80% from the field and 66.7% beyond the arc. It was disappointing that he didn’t get up more shots, but seeing the ball go through the net was huge. Another game shooting at a good percentage will go a long way for Krejci’s confidence, and might help him carve out a productive roll on a team that is screaming for what he’s capable of bringing to the table.
What Others Are Saying
News of another impending procedure on Zach Edey’s surgically repaired left ankle is cause for concern writes Abbas Bokhari of Beale St. Bears.
It is always very scary when bigs end up suffering lower-body injuries. It is also very understandable as to why Grizzlies fans are worried about Edey. Edey has already proven himself to be one of the most impactful players on the team, and the Grizzlies need him healthy in the long term. The recent news is even tougher to accept due to the fact that Edey was injury-free in college but is having recurring issues with his ankle.
Sharon Brown of the Memphis Flyer on the Grizzlies signing veteran Taj Gibson to the young squad.
The 17-year NBA veteran arrives with more than 1,000 career games played. Across stops with Chicago, Oklahoma City, Minnesota, New York, Washington, Detroit, and Charlotte, the long-time pro has built a reputation for professionalism, defensive discipline, and leadership.
For Memphis, those qualities are the reason for the signing.
