With the days getting longer and the weather getting warmer, I am sure a good amount of you guys are ready for May 10 and the NBA Lottery to come around. Still got two months to go! But even with that, it is okay to celebrate the remaining days we have for this season. A couple of days ago was a good example. The Nets pulled off a 23-point comeback to defeat the Detroit Pistons. Yes, the Pistons were handicapped due to injury. But we deserve a moment once in a while, right?
Tonight, the Nets will
be hosting another injury-plagued team in the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies currently sit at the 11th spot in the Western Conference and are coming off back-to-back losses to the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers. With the Nets somewhat banged up as well, they will look to carry their momentum into tonight hoping for a second straight win.
Where To Watch
Catch the action at 7:30 p.m. ET on the YES Network as well as streaming on the Gotham Sports App.
Injury Report
Not looking good as Michael Porter Jr. (rest) and Egor Demin (left plantar fascia injury management) will be out. Ben Saraf (back tightness) is probable.
A bit of surprise greeted fans on Monday morning: Grant Nelson, the 23-year-old seven-footer who had been on a 10-day deal was not extended a second 10-day as many expected after his solid performance and a rave review by Jordi Fernandez prior to the Pistons game. Nelson who had been playing well for Long Island can now be signed by any NBA team. The Nets only control his G League rights. There’s also nothing to prevent the Nets from signing him the rest of the season at some point. But in the meantime, Brooklyn has a roster opening.
For the Grizzlies … hold your breath … Ja Morant (left elbow), Scotty Pippen Jr. (right toe soreness), Santi Aldama (knee), Ty Jerome (calf), Cedrix Coward (right knee), newcomer Taj Gibson (reconditioning), Taylor Hendricks (right thumb soreness), and Brandon Clarke (calf) will be out. Zach Edey and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are out for the rest of the season.
For the record, those eight players are also the eight highest paid Grizzlies players.
Whew.
The Game
The Grizzlies are far removed from the magic they once possessed. Three years ago, they were on top of the world. Ja Morant was deemed the future face of the NBA. They were going head-to-head with the Warriors on numerous nights, and their Beale Street swag was a piece of sports culture. In today’s age, Ja Morant is now regarded as a disappointment if not an embarrassment, key franchise pieces like Jaren Jackson were traded away, and the Grizzlies are now looking towards the draft for some kind of revitalization. Though it’s sad, it’s instructive. This is just how the NBA goes.
Best hopes for the Grizzlies: two young guys: 21-year-old G.G. Jackson, the often injured but now healthy big who’s averaging 10.8 points and 25-year-old Cam Spencer can fill it up from deep. The sharpshooter is currently averaging 11.4 PPG on 44% on 3-pointers.
For the Nets, I expect Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe to have a field day in the paint. With the Grizzlies lacking size, they should have a plentiful amount of chances at the rim and for rebounds. Nolan Traore will get another opportunity to show what he can do as he will most likely take over the point guard duties for tonight as well.
A second straight win sounds scary for draft lottery odds, I know. At the moment, the Nets are tied with the Wizards for the third best odds, two games away from the top spot. So at this point, you just gotta roll with the punches.
Player To Watch
Tonight, it is tough to see who the Grizzlies can rely on with so many injuries to their roster. GG Jackson, though, comes to mind as someone who can take over the scoring duties. In his third season, he is currently averaging 10.8 PPG with a couple of 20-point games under his belt. And because of his height — 6’9”- and wingspan — just short of seven feet, he will be forced to grab more boards and protect the then what he’s probably used to.
Three years ago, Jackson, a South Carolina product, was the game’s youngest player all full of flash and hype, but he got laid low by injury: a broken fifth metatarsal on his right foot. Now, not only is he healthy but he admits he’s a different player as he told the Memphis Flyer’s Sharon Brown recently.
“Few years ago, it was a lot more trying to be flashy, less contact; now, it’s trying to go through somebody’s face a little bit,” Jackson said recently, after a game.
That shift is not cosmetic. It changes the geometry of the floor. Instead of drifting into contested jumpers, he is attacking seams. Instead of avoiding bodies, he is finishing through them. Instead of chasing the spectacular, he is hunting the efficient.
There was a moment recently when that difference felt undeniable. Jackson caught the ball on the wing, jabbed once, and instead of settling, lowered his shoulder into a bigger defender. The contact was solid. He finished through it anyway. No celebration. No stare. Just a quick turn upcourt, already locked into the next possession. A year ago, that play might have ended in a step back three. Now it ends at the rim.
Jackson will have to keep improving not just because of many of his teammates are out, but because the Grizz see him as part of their future, no matter who else is around. He is only 21.
From the Vault
The war in the Middle East is on everyone’s minds, particularly the young after the Trump administration declined to rule out a return of the military draft Sunday. (There was a lottery in that draft too.)
Back in the 1970s, during the Vietnam War, protest songs were a big part of the anti-war movement and few more enthralling than Country Joe McDonald and the Fish’s “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” filled with the dark humor of a dark time. In August 1969, his performance at Woodstock was one of the event’s signature moments, described as a four-letter rebuke to the war.
Country Joe died Sunday of complications from Parkinson’s Disease. He was 84. Rest in PEACE.
- Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
- Memphis Grizzlies Game Notes – Memphis Grizzlies
- Memphis takes on Brooklyn on 3-game slide – AP
- Grizzlies’ eight highest-paid players land on injury report for tank matchup vs. Nets – Erik Slater – Clutch Points
- Nets Development Didn’t Take A Night Off In Shocking Comeback At Detroit ($) – Steve Lichtenstein – Steve’s Newsletter
