Grizzly Bear Blues 13 hours ago
Full Recap: These Things Will Happen
Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Nights like this will happen. It’s a part of the process. There was not a lot of good — if any — at all from last night’s game. You may look at the box score and see good stats from Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke, and Dillon Brooks, but it doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. Ja Morant, at times, looked like a rookie point guard — one that played out of control — but that’s going to happen sometimes. The usually-efficient Brandon Clarke didn’t have his best shooting night, but that’s going to happen sometimes. Dillon Brooks made some...
Grizzly Bear Blues Nov 19, 2019
Forward Thinking: On Kyle Anderson, Brandon Clarke, and modernization in Memphis
Kyle Anderson (Getty, Michael J. LeBrecht II) and Brandon Clarke (Getty, Michael J. LeBrecht II) . Graphic: William Stone. | Kyle Anderson (Getty, Michael J. LeBrecht II) and Brandon Clarke (Getty, Michael J. LeBrecht II) . Graphic: William Stone. The Grizzlies going small up front off the bench has been big. The Memphis Grizzlies are going through a modernization. After several years of having a veteran-heavy team, there’s not a single player on the roster — aside from Andre Iguodala — born before the 1990’s. This pace-and-space offense, the modern system in today’s NBA, has...
Grizzly Bear Blues Nov 14, 2019
Report Card: Memphis Grizzlies Steal Win in Charlotte
Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via This is Ja’s world, and we’re living in it. This game flashed glimpses of the future. Though he didn’t launch very many shot attempts, Jaren Jackson Jr. showed off his unicorn skillset, drilling 4 three’s — a few of them coming off the dribble. Brandon Clarke was all over the place, finishing around the paint with high efficiency and making impact plays defensively. Then, Ja Morant showed why he could be a future superstar in this league, making numerous jaw-dropping plays, putting the team on his back to seal the game, and releasing his...
Grizzly Bear Blues Nov 13, 2019
5 Questions with “At The Hive”
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports Looking to avenge a preseason clobbering. The Memphis Grizzlies and the Charlotte Hornets isn’t the marquee basketball matchup for tonight’s slate, but it does offer some cool matchups. Though Terry Rozier is the starter, people want to see Devonte Graham and Ja Morant. In addition, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke will have some battles against PJ Washington — someone that the deepest realms of NBA Twitter consider to be the Rookie of the Year pick. Then, we get Jae Crowder against Nic Batum. Wild stuff. I caught up with Laieke Abebe from “At...
Grizzly Bear Blues Nov 11, 2019
Grizzlies outlast Spurs 113-109
Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports Memphis holds off San Antonio’s late surge on Tony Parker Retirement Night in San Antonio Grizzlies Head Coach Taylor Jenkins returned to the city where he got his start in the NBA for the first time as a head coach. We also got the return of a different sort, this one involving rookies Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke coming back to the lineup after sitting out Saturday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Jaren Jackson Jr. got the Grizzlies going offensively in the 1st quarter, going 3-for-6 from the field for 7 points. Dillon Brooks and Jonas Valanciunas were...
Grizzly Bear Blues Nov 10, 2019
Full Recap: Mavericks Defeat Grizzlies 138-122
Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports Defense? Never heard of her! Last week, I wrote about the importance of the Memphis Grizzlies giving Jaren Jackson Jr. the ball more. And the Grizzlies finally did just that despite eventually losing to the Dallas Mavericks 138-122 last night at the FedexForum in a high-pace layup fest that was missing Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke, and Kristaps Porzingis. Jackson scored a season-high 23 points on 10-17 shooting and also had 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Defense, however, came at an absolute premium as the Mavericks shot 54% from the field and made 18 threes. The...
Grizzly Bear Blues Nov 9, 2019
Quick Recap: Mavericks topple Grizzlies
Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports Luka Doncic leads the Mavericks past the Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies had their first matchup of the season against their divisional foe Dallas Mavericks. Kristaps Porzingis, Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke were all ruled out pre-game for “injuries” so that they could rest. Fortunately, fans still got the matchup of the 2018 NBA Drafts 3rd and 4th overall picks in Luka Doncic and Jaren Jackson Jr. The absence of Morant and Grayson Allen gave De’Anthony Melton his first run of extended minutes all season long after missing preseason and training camp...
Grizzly Bear Blues Nov 5, 2019
Full Recap: Grizzlies lose to Rockets without Russell Westbrook
Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via This one got heated The Memphis Grizzlies hosted the Houston Rockets Monday night inside FedExForum. The Grizz would take on Houston without Jaren Jackson Jr. due to a sore knee, leading to Brandon Clarke making his first career start alongside Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, Jae Crowder and Jonas Valanciunas. The Rockets would be without Russell Westbrook as they started James Harden, Eric Gordon, Danuel House, P.J. Tucker and Clint Capela. The Grizz had a lead at the half way mark in the first quarter after Morant opened the game scoring the first two buckets...
Grizzly Bear Blues Nov 4, 2019
Quick Recap: Memphis Grizzlies fall to Houston Rockets, 107-100
Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports The Grizzlies had no answer for Harden. The Memphis Grizzlies had their first division foe battle of the season, as they took on James Harden and the Houston Rockets. Russell Westbrook sat out for load management reasons, so we didn’t get to see how Ja Morant stacked up against his most popular player comparison. Unfortunately for Memphis, Jaren Jackson Jr. was out with knee soreness, opening up the opportunity for Brandon Clarke to get his first NBA start. The first quarter might have been a 2-on-1 game with Ja Morant and Jonas Valanciunas against James...
Grizzly Bear Blues Nov 4, 2019
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Houston Rockets Game Preview
Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via What could possibly go wrong? WHO: Memphis Grizzlies (1-4, 1-2 home) vs. Houston Rockets (3-3, 1-2 road) WHERE: FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee WHEN: 7:00 PM CT HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN: Fox Sports Southeast/92.9 FM ESPN Memphis INJURY REPORT: MEMPHIS: Brandon Clarke (Probable, back), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Doubtful, knee), Grayson Allen (Out, ankle) HOUSTON: Russell Westbrook (Doubtful, load management), Gerald Green (Out, foot), Nene Hilario (Out, adductor) PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS: MEMPHIS: Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, Jae Crowder, Brandon Clarke, Jonas...
Grizzly Bear Blues Nov 2, 2019
Memphis Grizzlies vs Phoenix Suns Game Preview
Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via After a three day break, can the Grizzlies successfully defend their homecourt against the Surprising Suns? WHO: Memphis Grizzlies (1-3, 1-1 at home) vs. Phoenix Suns (3-2, 1-1 on road) WHEN: 7:00PM Central WHERE: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN: Fox Sports Southeast/92.9 FM ESPN Memphis INJURY REPORT: MEMPHIS: Brandon Clarke (Questionable, Back) Phoenix Suns: Ty Jerome (Out, Ankle) PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS: MEMPHIS: Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, Jae Crowder, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jonas Valanciunas PHOENIX: Ricky Rubio, Devin Booker,...
Grizzly Bear Blues Oct 27, 2019
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Brooklyn Nets Game Preview
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports Will Memphis finally taste victory? WHO: Memphis Grizzlies (0-2, 0-1 home) vs. Brooklyn Nets (1-1, 0-0 away) WHEN: 5:00 PM CT WHERE: FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN: Fox Sports Southeast/92.9 FM ESPN Memphis INJURY REPORT: MEMPHIS: Brandon Clarke (Back, Questionable) BROOKLYN: NONE PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS: MEMPHIS: Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, Jae Crowder, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jonas Valanciunas BROOKLYN: Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, Taurean Prince, Jarrett Allen In a season where wins don’t matter, it would still...
Grizzly Bear Blues Oct 23, 2019
Why Brandon Clarke will take Jonas Valanciunas’ job this season
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports Brandon Clarke will pull a Draymond & the likely casualty is Jonas According to pre-draft sites such as Tankathon.com Brandon Clarke has the highest chance of becoming an All-Star team in the entire 2019 draft class aside from Zion Williams, & yes that includes our very own second overall selection Ja Morant. That speaks volumes for a guy we got with a trade for the 21st pick. Brandon Clarke not only comes in with record shattering metrics from his senior & lone season at Gonzaga. He also comes in with Summer League MVP honors, but if you remember...
Grizzly Bear Blues Oct 21, 2019
What the departure of Ivan Rabb and Miles Plumlee means
Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports Aside from the obvious The Memphis Grizzlies got their roster to the league-mandated 15 players (and two two-way contracts in John Konchar and Yuta Watanabe) over the weekend. The roster is now as follows- Guards- Ja Morant, Tyus Jones, DeAnthony Melton, Grayson Allen, Marko Guduric, Dillon Brooks Forwards- Kyle Anderson, Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill, Bruno Caboclo, Josh Jackson, Andre Iguodala Bigs- Jonas Valanciunas, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke Of course, Andre Iguodala (likely traded by 2020) and Josh Jackson (starting the season with the Memphis...
