Edey’s return helps Memphis look BETTER – but are Grizzlies DOOMED if Ja Morant injury is serious?

Edey’s return helps Memphis look BETTER – but are Grizzlies DOOMED if Ja Morant injury is serious?

This is how down bad the Memphis Grizzlies are. We are talking about being excited, moral victories coming out of a loss in Cleveland to the Cavaliers. They look better. Zack Ed’s return does matter, but how much does it matter? Jamai Mhach makes his official debut with the Grizzlies coming up here soon. And it kind of feels like the Memphis Grizzlies are already doomed even though it’s the middle of November. Michael’s going to try to talk me off the ledge. Let’s lock in here on Lockdown Grizzly. You are Locked On Grizzlies, your daily Memphis Grizzlies podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Welcome everybody to this episode of Locked On Grizzlies. It is I, Joe Mullenax, and that is correct. We are back together. The dynamic duo rides once more to Michael Cole with me here on this episode of the show. He is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for the commercial appeal there in Memphis, Tennessee. And you are locked in to the best place where you can start your day for NBA and Memphis Grizzlies analysis. Locked on Grizzlies. Today’s episode of the podcast is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account. Use code lockdown NBA for $20 off your first purchase. We’re free and available wherever you get podcast. As proud members of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. And now to Michael, the number one sports podcast network. We are land. Best in the land. We are the best in the land. It is wonderful to be able to say that and we are so grateful to everybody that helps us on that journey. Whether you’re checking it out on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Google, however you get your podcast, interact with us, hit us up on X, be a part of our wonderful little internet community we like to call Lockdown Grizzlies. We continue to grow, we continue to expand, we continue to have fun even as the Memphis Grizzlies have the opposite of fun. They are a 4-10 basketball team. They look the part of a lottery squad, although they have a max contract on the roster and a near max contract on the roster. I am not in the best headsp space. Deichel’s going to try to talk me out of it later on in the show because he’s the positive Patty on this podcast. I am the Debbie Downer, but we’re going to start on a somewhat positive note to Michael. The Grizzlies looked better. He look at my smile. They looked better. If you’re on YouTube, you can probably feel my joy through your audio podcast. they did better on Saturday night. Uh, whatever the heck that means. The main point and positive to come out of another loss for the Memphis Grizzlies is the fact that, well, two things. One, Zack Edy made his debut for the season and he looked the part of somebody that is going to impact this Grizzlies team. There’s no denying that, right? I think that that has been questioned. I think that’s been thrown around as a h well you know Zack Edi is that important at least for one game unfortunately he looked that important. We didn’t get a full taste of it because John Morant went out with injury pretty early in the contest and we’ll talk more about that later on in the show but Zakidi looked like he’s an impact player in Tuaselo systems in fairness to Tamaselo. Yeah, and you know, Eselo has alluded to this since the beginning of the season as we’ve talked about. You know, uh we saw it even last season when Iselo took over. We saw Ed’s role just pretty much become much more important than it was when Taylor Jenkins was a coach. But yeah, you saw a lot of differences. You saw the rim protection just look much much better uh in this game. You you saw the physicality standpoint. You know, the Grizzlies just look more energetic. they looked more physical against a Cavs team that is one of the better teams in the NBA and they kind of you know h hanged in the game for a while hung in there and the fourth quarter happened and of course you know in the fourth quarter again that’s when going back to your point John Morant leaving the game six minutes left in the first quarter it’s just too difficult of a situation when you’re talking about you’re down one two three four point guards you put four point guards on your roster you had so many point guards on your roster to the point that Cole Anthony was evolved in a trade and you’re like, “Ah, we’ll buy him out.” And he’s playing solid basketball with the Milwaukee Bucks right now. But that’s neither here nor there. The point is, yes, they did look better with Zack Edy. And I think this game against the Cavs, we saw it in the game, too. I mean, of course, we had the 13 game sample size before that, but we saw in the game the importance of Zack Edy. I go to that stretch early in the fourth quarter. I believe the Grizzlies entered the fourth quarter up 84 to 76. Now granted, I will add that Cleveland was already going on a run. Like the momentum was already in Cleveland’s favor, but the Grizzlies were still up 85 uh to 83. I believe they called a timeout and Zack Edy went out of the game. As soon as Zack Edy went out of the game, uh Evan Moley gets uh gets a good shot at right at the rim, gets fouled, makes one or two free throws, scores on the next two possessions. He scores five points immediately. One of them was a putback dunk. The other one was an offensive rebound that led to a foul. like he looked like a manchild going against that group when Zack Edy went out and I believe Jiren was out of the game in that stretch too. So again, this goes to show everything that we were talking about in terms of the importance of Zack Edy. He’s going to be a very important piece for this team going forward and the importance of rotations. Uh we’ll talk more about Tomas Elo throughout the contest or throughout the contest, throughout the podcast, I should say. Throughout the contest, Iselo’s rotational choices continued to make me confused whether it’s exactly what you just talked about there, partner. There there’s no time where Zack Edi and Jiren Jackson Jr. should ever be out of the basketball game at the same time. That that just can’t happen. And that’s very easy to fix rotationally. I’m not a basketball genius, but that is something that can certainly be improved upon. Something else that can be improved upon, it was kind of like a giveth and take away. Cedric finally starts. They make the choice to go Ken Davius Cowwell Pope coming off the bench. Hasn’t come off the bench in years, but that decision was made. Cedric Coward gets the start. Everybody on Grizzlies Twitter X, whatever you want to call it, rejoiced to Michael Cole. Everybody was happy. Hooray. Iselo is paying attention. And then as you posted about inexplicably, he plays the fewest minutes that he has played maybe all season long since the third game of the season. Since the game against the Pacers, change in his rotational role despite the fact he was a starter. Why? I don’t understand. Help it make sense. I I wish I had the direct answer for you. The only thing that really comes to mind as from a logical perspective here is the fact that uh Cedric Coward was doubtful a day a day ago, right? He was doubtful going into the game and then as the game, you know, uh got closer, he ended up being upgraded to questionable. So, at one point the Grizzlies didn’t think he was going to play. It was right foot soreness. So, look, when you add in the extra context, right, there is the situation where we look at this in terms of Cedric Coward only played six games last season. Cedric Coward didn’t play in the summer league. Cedric Coward has been ramping up and the Grizzlies have said, “Hey, this is going to take some time.” So, look, maybe that’s the only thing I got for you, Joe. That’s the only thing I got for you because if that wasn’t the case, and we’ll find out, but if that wasn’t the case, then I I have many more questions in terms of what what really was the idea here? Because in a way, and I know coaches aren’t doing this, but it feels like a troll job in a way because everyone was saying like, “Uh, start him, start him, start him.” And when I would ask Iselo about it, he would always go back to the point that, hey, look, we’re more worried about, you know, the rotations. And at the end of the day, he’s playing more minutes than these guys and whatnot. And then you go into this game and now these guys are playing more minutes than him and it’s like, well, hey, he he started he had to star by his name at the beginning. So, I I don’t know what to make of the injury angle does make sense. I’ll give uh I’ll give some credit to Eelo for that. And again, I’m I have not been the biggest Eelo fan to this point in his tenure as Memphis Grizzlies head coach, but he was doubtful upgraded to questionable. That that makes logical sense. Something that doesn’t make a ton of logical sense to me to Michael, and we’ll close out this part of the we’ll move on from the Cavs game after this. Jiren Jackson Jr. was getting praise on social media for looking better. And again, I have better for those of you that aren’t watching on YouTube. Better is an air quotes. Demich Jiren looked better with Zack Edy in the mix. I think I’ve used this example before. I’m old enough to have followed this team when Rudy Gay was shooting six for 23 from the field and Rudy Gay would get crushed by everybody for having such a terribly inefficient night. Now Jiren got to the free throw line a lot. He got to the free throw line. That’s what equals it out. But do you agree with the sentiment that Jiren looked better? because Jiren was one of the bright spots in terms of the offense and in terms of efficiency. That was one of his most inefficient games of the season. So, I don’t know that I agree with that sentiment. Do you disagree with me? I’m I’m going to disagree with you slightly here because at the end of the day, six for 23. Six of 23 is six of 23, Joe. I’m I’m I’m That’s why I said slightly because at the end of the day, you got to shoot the basketball better than that as a big man. I’m I’m never going to make an excuse for a big shooting six of 23. But from what we’ve seen this season, that is the anomaly. That is not uh what we So, so this is what I’ll say. If you would have asked me going into this game, what are some of the things that I want to see more from Jiren Jackson Jr.? We talked about it on the show. I’ve talked about it time and time again. Jiren didn’t have a game coming into this one with more than 16 shots. This is Jiren Jackson Jr. that we’re talking about. He didn’t have a game before this with more than 16 field goal attempts. And I’ll do you one better. He didn’t have a game with more than six free throw attempts. Jiren, the guy who was getting to the line nonstop, it felt like a lot of times last season. Hasn’t even been getting to the free throw line. So, yeah, we can do all this talk about, oh, his his field goal percentage is up. You know, he’s been better shooting the ball from the three-point line, his efficiency is up, but he’s not shooting, you know, enough for a for a star player for for a player who just got this big contract extension. You need more shot attempts. You need more aggressiveness. And guess what? They got more shot attempts in this game. You got more aggressiveness in this game. So now you got to mesh the two things, right? Okay, now we need a little bit better efficiency, but keep that aggressiveness going forward. I like the aggressiveness. And at the end of the day, I do think there’s a correlation between the fact that with Zack Edy being back and you you’re not being able to do more doubles because of the fact that you got to account for Zack Edy, you know, as as a guy who’s going to go over there and crash the offensive glass and you put Jiren Jackson Jr. in more one-on-one situations with Lee. guys, you know, being a little bit more handsy, being a little bit more physical, and him getting some of those free throw attempts. But yeah, look, at the end of the day, six of 23 for a big, I’m I’m never going to excuse that. He’s got to shoot the basketball better, but I need to see a little bit more of the inefficient shooting nights cuz that’s been one of his strengths. But again, I need the aggressiveness more than anything. This is this is what we need to see from Jiren Jackson Jr. going forward. 23 shot attempts. I like it, Joe. He hasn’t had more than 16 in the game up to before that. and the free throw attempts is the biggest piece of evidence to your favor. Obviously, you can watch the game, watch the film, and see that he was more aggressive. Uh, but the fact that he got to the the free throw line as often as he did, refs, as much as people complain about officials, if you’re shooting 14 free throws, that means that you’re trying to get to the basket. That means that you’re actively looking for your shot. So, I I’m with you. That’s the best piece of evidence that he was better, right? Just like the Grizzlies were better, but still lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hit us up on X at Joe Mullenx at Michael C. Let us know in the comments. Are you feeling more positive about the Grizzlies now that Zack Edy is back probably hard with the uncertainty around Jarant which we’ll talk more about later on in the show. But first, we’re going to talk about Jamai Mhack finally arriving in Memphis. A confusing arrival, but he is here. What is he going to mean on a two-way contract? Stick around here on Lockdown Grizzlies. Today’s episode of Lockdown Grizzlies is brought to you by Robin Hood. Your ambition just met its match with Robin Hood. You play for the win, not just on game day, every day. Locking in on every opening, beating your PR, beating it again. Channel that drive into your money. Robin Hood puts you in control of your money. Trade stocks and EATFs, options, futures, and crypto all in one platform. You can now build and execute your own trades from a desktop with Robin Hood Legends advanced tools. or take advantage of the new Robin Hood strategies with a tailored portfolio managed by a team of experts. You expect more from yourself. Expect more from your money. Get started today at robinhood.com/yyoumoney. Again, that’s robinhood.com/youmoney. Your money, your move. Today’s episode of Lockdown Grizzlies is also brought to you by Game Time. Basketball season is officially here. Nothing beats being in the arena for opening games, but let’s be real, getting tickets can be a total headache between waiting in cues, surprise fees, prices that jump up right before you check out. It’s easy to get frustrated when all you want to do is cheer on your team. But that’s where Game Time comes in, the app that gives fans the advantage. It’s your ultimate life hack for scoring amazing NBA tickets fast, easy, and stressfree. I love that what you see is what you pay. There are no hidden fees at checkout. Plus, you can see exactly what the view from your seat is going to be before you buy the tickets with the inapp seat view feature. You can even find NBA tickets for under $25. Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account and use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. That’s code L O C K D O NA for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. All right, Demich, I know that you’re excited. Uh, a fellow Tennessee V. I do believe Mr. Jamai Mhach has officially uh joined the Memphis Grizzlies. A very confusing process for fans. Uh, he’s drafted in the second round by the Memphis Grizzlies this past draft. Participates in summer league. Not really involved in terms of they have his draft rights. He can’t go anywhere else. He’s not added to the the Memphis Hustle roster. You being far more tuned into the team than just about anybody probably saw this being the ending here, right? PJ Hall was on a two-way contract. Hall was there because Zack Edy was not there. Now that Zach Edi has arrived, Hall is gone and Mhach is in the fold. I know you’re excited and I know there’s lots of fans that are excited because again, we talk about having that dog in you, right? Mhach might have multiple dogs or the mo, you know, the, you know, D AWG, right? He is a guy that is probably what the in the top three best perimeter defenders on the roster right now just after signing his contract. That’s how good of a defender he is. Can he do anything else is the question at the NBA level. But that defensive intensity, whether it’s in practice, right, whether it’s in a game, you know, there’s so much that goes beyond just playing six or eight minutes in a contest when it’s decided. He might be an endofb guy as a two-way deal, but he could be a spark of some sorts. That That’s crazy to say for a two-way deal, but for a team that’s desperately looking for a spark, that’s not this far-fetched. No, it’s it’s not. And when you think about the idea of a spark, this team needs one. This this team needs a spark. And quite frankly, when you just look at the totality of the situation and what we know about Jamaak as a player, Joe, you’ve talked about it, the energy, uh, guys not really looking like they want to play and things like that. I guarantee you we’re never going to have to worry about that with Jamaak. If if there’s someone that’s going to get in that game, and it could be Elo, it could be Joe Mullenax, it could be the Michael Cole coaching, it doesn’t matter. That that dude’s going to go all out and uh, you’re going to see it. And getting back to your point of, you know, what else can he do, you know, besides the defense, right? We we know what the defense is. Guy just averaged 3.4 steals in in five G-League games. And um you know, he that’s he’s a playmaker on and off the ball. When I went down to the hustle game, one of the things that stood out to me is when I was talking, you know, uh to to people about him, uh the coach at the hustle, uh Robinson Cole, basically said that, uh yeah, it sounds, you know, real simple and and you know, it’s what you expect. He’s a great defender, just throw him on the guy on the ball, right? But we actually, you know, he he compared him to a quarterback in a way where we love his instincts off of the ball, too. So, even when he comes up and if he gets some some minutes here, I suspect he probably will with the guard situation being what it is, uh, you can see him, yeah, he’s going to be guarding the top options from time to time, but there will be other situations because of his ability as a guy off the ball who’s going to get into the play the passing lanes and to be a defensive playmaker because a lot of times when you’re playing on the ball, uh, it’s tougher to be that same caliber defensive playmaker. We’ve seen that with Jiren Jackson Jr. That’s case in point. He doesn’t really guard the top uh interior scoring options every single game. He in in the past when he won defensive player of the year, he was a Ror. He was guarding like Herb Jones and like uh Derek Jones and those type guys and and he won defensive player of the year off of that. So, this defensive role is a little bit more versatile than some people would think, but again, what else can he do? That’s what it’s going to come down to. And when I went down there uh and I talked to him and I talked to people, the hustle, uh it sounds simple to say, “Oh yeah, he’s got to be a better shooter.” That’s going to come and go. We’ll see. You know, some games he’s going to shoot the basketball better. Some games it’s just not going to be there. But the playmaking is the area where I feel like that is the area that the Grizzlies wanted to see the improvement because the shooting it’s like we’ll be waiting probably some years. Um, you know, just just being honest for him to be that consistent knockdown shooter. He’s shown the ability. I mean, summer league he shot 40% from three-point range, but with the hustle, I believe he was under 30% so far through five games. Small sample size. But the playmaking, Joe, let’s let’s look at it like this. The first two games I saw him play with the hustle, he had seven assists in each of those games. You know how many times he had seven assists in over four years in college? Not that many. Never. Never. He he he had five assists was his careerhigh at the collegiate level. And he talked about it when he was introduced by the team, right? He talked about the fact that, you know, I was in a situation where I wasn’t able to rock out a little bit, but now when he’s in Memphis, uh, you you get the ball in your hands a little bit more. It allows you allows the Grizzlies to see, okay, what what does he have as a playmaker? He’s no finished product, but again, adding that playmaking ability, it does give you something else where teams have to account for him a little bit more. And he’s been more focused on that than anything. So, I’m looking forward to that opportunity. Like, what can he bring to the team as a playmaker more than just the shooting standpoint? Because you know what you’re going to get on defense. Yeah, the shooting component is not going to be there consistently. It’s just not going to be. The playmaking is huge because you have to be some sort of a threat, right? I’ I’ve talked too much about older eras of Grizzlies basketball already on this show, but Tony Allen, one of the issues with Tony was when he wasn’t able to move, pulls a hamstring, he was a good slasher, cuttered to the rim. If TA is not able to score off of those types of looks, nobody’s going to respect his jump shot. It’s like playing five on four on that end of the court. For Mhack, as long as he’s a a creator of offense in some way, right? being that hockey assist guy, making the extra pass to the scoring look, whatever the case might be. As long as he’s active in that sense, and he’s actively being someone that you have to at least pay attention to, he is so strong defensively, whether it’s with the hustle or even in spurts with the Grizzlies because of the injury situation. I’m excited to watch him play. Again, it kind of tells you the state of things for the Memphis Grizzlies when we’re excited about a two-way contract being signed. But the reality of the situation is that is where we are and you take what you can get at this stage of the game. I think Mhach is going to be a welcome addition and I hope that he plays as soon as you know Tuesday in San Antonio. I know you’ll be there partner to go check that out. So, um I do believe it’s Tuesday, right? Yeah. Yes, Tuesday. Tuesday NBC Peacock. Yeah. I can’t wait to see that game on our next episode of Lockdown Grizzlies. But we got to close out this episode first. And when we come back here on Lockdown Grizzlies, Demich is going to do his best to talk me off the ledge. I think the season is already doomed. He’s going to tell me why I’m wrong. Hopefully, if he agrees with me, it’s going to be a real bad ending to this particular podcast. Stick around. Let’s find out together, shall we? 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Finishing up this episode of Lockdown Grizzlies, proud members of the number one sports podcast network, the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every single day. And to Michael, again, I I hope that you’re in a better headsp space than me when it comes to the 4 and 10 Memphis Grizzlies because I think the season is already doomed. Now, I’m Mr. Call Me at Christmas. That’s you. All right. I’m that guy. It’s obviously not Christmas yet. Although, you go to any They might even call you at Thanksgiving this year. You You go to any store and people think it’s Christmas already. I’m Mr. Call Me a Christmas. So, in reality, in order to stay consistent, because this is one of the things I’ve been most consistent about is it’s hard to really get a read on any NBA team until at least you have 10 games of a fully healthy roster, which Memphis may never have. Uh, so Christmas is always kind of a nice general, hey, let’s see where we’re at. They look like they’re in a really bad spot right now, the Memphis Grizzlies. And the schedule does not necessarily get lighter, at least not anytime soon. The team looks listless at times. Again, they did look better against the Cavs, but this John Morant injury looms large. Ty Jerome’s re-evaluation is coming up in the next 24 hours or so. We’ll probably get an update on Jerome before the Spurs game, I’d imagine. I’m not optimistic that the Grizzlies can dig out of this hole that they have dug themselves in. You and I have talked about being 500, right? If they can hang around 500, even if they’re a couple games below, right? Like that in this case that would be what? Five and nine maybe. Six and eight. Five and nine. Yeah. Like even if they had won one or two more games, maybe I’m feeling a little bit more optimistic. They do not look like a team that has the capacity to get beyond what they currently are. And if that is indeed the case, what does that say about the current makeup of this roster? It makes me really worried to Michael. Tell me why I shouldn’t be really worried. Please save me from this doom. Tell me that everything’s going to be okay. Look, you you’ve set me up to be to be positive here. So, if I just come out here and agree with you, it’s just like a Well, you need to agree. I mean, if that’s how you feel, my friend. Like, go ahead. Like, let’s let’s be real with our listeners. I’m I’m going to I’m going to be real for sure. And and I’ll say this, the the idea of the season being doomed is relative to what was the expectation at the beginning. That that’s that’s what it all goes back to. you sneaky to Michael Cole. And look, if if I didn’t, you know, I had them in the six range, you know, roughly somewhere in there uh coming into the season and and that’s kind of where I seen it. And now looking at the way things have shaken out in the West, that that is still plausible. Two things can be true. Two things can be true. One, Michael Cole. No, no, no. Let me getting to the 60 to No, no, no. I said it’s plausible. I didn’t say it’s happening. Okay, I wouldn’t bet on it. I tell you that. I would not bet on it. But but look, but look, here’s where I stand. Uh, two things can be true. Number one, this team has lacked any identity through the first 13 games of the season. I know they played 14 games, said 13 games. Uh, the first 13 games of the season, no identity, not good on offense, not good on defense, not enough energy, effort, like nothing that we’ve seen has led me to believe that this team will be a competitive team in the Western Conference. So, the season does feel doomed in in that way. But I will add this. When Zach Edi stepped on the floor, they looked they looked better. When they get Tai Jerome back, they’ll look even, you know, they’ll look even more improved. So, you factor all of that in. The team is going to look better, but it’s not enough to me. It’s not enough to me, Joe. And and I get Look, I took the long route to where you are. I just It’s not enough to me because Taj will get back. Zach Edi, you’re gonna look more improved. They’re going to win more games, but this team to me right now isn’t good enough to win enough games to get to the point where we’re saying, “Oh, they’re back to, as I said at the beginning, getting back into the into the hunt for the six seed. So, you’re not in a playin tournament and things like that.” I think that’s going to be really tough sledding. It’s possible, but it’s tough because of the fact that they’ve dug themselves in this deep hole. And we we still have to see, you know, what’s what’s going to be the status here with John Mor. And then like uh it’s it’s tough to say because we’ve seen this in in Grizzlies land a lot. You you’re looking forward to so many guys being back. It’s not even just about the fact of getting these guys back. The guys who are on the floor got to stay on the floor until they get back and beyond. That’s the tougher part. You get Zach Edi back, boom, John goes down. Like there have been years you get Jarant back, boom, this other guy goes down. like it’s always felt like this h ah we can’t get the full puzzle together because this piece goes down and this piece gets back and it’s it’s tough to see you know to to envision all these guys being on the floor at the same time. Uh I won’t say doomed that exact word because I still believe that there’s a lot to learn about this team. When I say doomed I’m to the point of yeah just blow it up like it’s it is what it is. But I won’t say doomed just yet because Joe, we don’t even know the direction. If you know the direction of this team, let me know. I don’t know what this team is. I have no clue if this team is going to be good defensively, if they’re going to be good offensively, or they’re just going to be bad all all season long. And we’ve seen the Grizzlies get off the slow starts on defense particularly. But like I need to see more with those guys on the floor so I can say, “Okay, yeah, like like you said, call me at Christmas.” we get to Christmas and the Grizzlies are still in the 20s in offensive and defensive net rating. Oh, it’s going to be some tough conversations that need to be had. Here’s where I I’m here’s where I’m most worried. Okay, because to your point, Utah Jazz, hilariously, as of this recording, are the 10th seed in the Western Conference at 4 and 10. Okay. They’re tied with the Clippers for that honor. And again, that’s as of this recording, both the Clippers. You the 10 seed at four and 10. I’m sorry. Four and eight. I’m sorry. Oh. Oh, 4 and8. Okay. Yeah. So, Utah’s at 4 and eight, Clippers 4 and eight. Again, that’s as of this recording. Both teams played on Sunday, that sort of thing. So, anyway, uh the Grizzlies at 4-10, literally a game back, right? So, the player, right, the playin is super realistic still even that has transpired. We were talking about the six seed. That’s what you and I were talking about. And you and I are on the same page. That’s not happening. I don’t know that I see Phoenix, who has the toughest remaining schedule left in the NBA, maintaining their start and hanging around the six. But I also think that you’ve got teams in seven, eight, like the Timberwolves, the Warriors, the team that I talked about to start the season. The Trailblazers is the team I was nervous about. Trailblazers look pretty good right now. They do. So I I think that that’s those are the team they’re going to stay in front of Memphis. Memphis is hovering around the nine or the 10 the rest of the way would be my guess. old friend JB Bickerstaff, right? Head coach of the Detroit Pistons one time. I love JB. Wrong place. You talk about establish establishing a culture. I bet we wouldn’t be having that question right now if he was here. Who else is suffering through some pretty serious injuries? The Detroit Pistons, right? I think they had five rotation guys out the other night and they won the basketball game. Thompson and they won and they competed and that is where I am struggling and where I feel most doomed and I think Grizzlies fans can relate to that a little bit in my interactions on X on social media that it’s not the injuries most if not all coaches would be losing with the injuries that the Grizzlies have sustained. This team had a hardship waiver to start the season. To start the season that’s how ridiculous the injury situation has been for the Grizzlies. But I am not judging Eselo on that curve because that’s not fair. I struggle with you. They have no identity. I think if you sat down 10 Memphis Grizzlies players and ask them what is the culture and identity of this team, they would get 10 different answers. Yep. And that is a problem to Michael and that is something that Elo and that coaching staff to a larger macro view Zack Kleimman they have to figure that out. What is the identity? Speed kills doesn’t work. Speed kills is killing your team currently. So what is the reality? You got to get some stops for that speed to kill. Yeah. There has to be some defensive intensity. There has to be some physicality. Kirby Smart had a great quote this weekend talking about how people everybody wants checks. You know, they don’t want the physicality. You got Yeah. I love that. There there’s hardship and there’s challenge and there is aggression that we are lacking from these Memphis Grizzlies right now. And my challenge, if we want to get out of this doomed feeling, there has to be some fight. There has to be some aggression. There has to be I think that’s all people want to see energy. Nobody that is rational. And and in fairness, I’m not always rational, right? John Contour, shout out to Johnny Basketball. Not always rational, but I think most rational people will say they have multiple people out and god forbid John Morance’s out for nobody expected this team to be 10 and four. Absolutely not. They had won two more games, right? Still had a losing record, but they were competing every night and looked more like a basketball team that wants to play basketball. It’s the look. It’s the look. It’s the look, the vibes, right? and and that as dumb as that might sound to people my age and older that matters in this era of basketball. Look at the Detroit. They get it. They have an energy about them that the Grizzlies are lacking. They have to rediscover that or figure out what that’s going to look like in the Eastlo era. Otherwise, the hole is going to be too deep to dig out of when the big fat guy that breaks into your house every year shows up with presents for your kids. This isn’t new. This isn’t new for Grizzlies basketball. They they get it because we’ve seen how many times have we seen the Grizzlies in loaded Western Conference? I’m going back to your days. We’re going back to the GB GBB days. Uh how many times have you seen rosters that on paper more stacked than the Grizzlies, but you knew the Grizzlies were going to come in and match the intensity or even surpass it? That’s what we’re used to seeing. Even going back to the Hubie Brown years. Absolutely. that that team wasn’t loaded with stars. And and I remember when I talked on the phone with Huie about it and he he said we had to play a style uh that was going to lean into the energy and the effort that we could bring on a consistent basis. And that was such a good thing to hear for me because that’s what this team should be doing. They should be playing with because because even when you’re you’re under man, so to speak, you should be out there diving all over the place for loose balls and making up for it just by going extra hard because you don’t have six or seven 40% three-point shooters or three or four 20 point per game scores. You don’t have that. So, you got to make up for it. And it it’s not just, oh, well, we we don’t got our guys. It’s it’s it’s no, just like in in football, we say if any given Sunday, it I it can happen for the Grizzlies, too. But the point is, no matter who they put out there, we have not consumed we have not seen consistent energy and effort from this team and that’s what people want to see because that’s a that’s a starting point. That’s a starting point. What is the starting point right now? We don’t know what it is. And the reason that it’s a starting point for any from pee-wee to professional sports and everything in between, you know why effort and energy and attitude are where just about everybody starts? It’s because it’s stuff that you control. Doesn’t matter how much bigger, faster, stronger the opponent is, how much healthier they are. You control your effort and your attitude in everything you do. And right now, it’s not there for the Memphis Grizzlies. And to me, beyond the system that I like to joke about, beyond the X’s and O’s, that is the biggest problem for the Memphis Grizzlies. When we come back on our next episode of Locked on Grizzlies, Demich, I do believe you are going to be in San Antonio, Texas, correct? Yeah, I’m taking a trip down. Taking a trip down there. Yep. Yep. Yeah, you need to We might make you just practice. I’m not going to make you do it right now and put you on the spot, but the Round Ball Rock, you might have to hit us with a little bit of Round Ball Rock, you know. I got you. I got you. I got on Grizzlies are on uh NBC for the first time since the new uh new TV deal has started, Grizzly Spurs. So, De will be there in San Antonio covering that game. He’ll be with us on our next episode of Lockdown Grizzlies as well. We’ll preview that contest. Webanyama uh dealing with an injury. Speaking of injury, possible the big man, the MVP candidate now uh potentially the best player on the planet. Joic has something to say about that, but Webama is not careful. Joic is still there. Somehow Joic is having the best season of his career, which is wild to me. Yeah. Um and SA is obviously still really good, too. But when’s climbing the ranks and he’s on I I think it’ll be interesting if Memphis doesn’t have to deal with him. you know that that’ll be an opportunity with Zach Edy back in the fold. We’ll talk about that and more on our next edition of the show. Make sure you’re liking, commenting, rating, reviewing, subscribing wherever you get podcasts. And make sure after making us your first listen every day, you are checking out the Locked On Fantasy Basketball podcast with Josh Lloyd. He hosts the number one fantasy basketball podcast, giving you daily tips and helping you win your league all while making you a smarter NBA fan. Find Lockdown Fantasy Basketball on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network out there. Your team every day. Like, comment, rate, review, subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Google, YouTube, wherever you get podcasts. Hang out with us each and every time an episode drops. The Michael appreciates it. I appreciate it. And we will appreciate you being back here with us next time. Until then, see you.

Yes, the Memphis Grizzlies looked “better” against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But they still lost – and maybe lost Ja Morant again to injury as Zach Edey returns. Hosts Damichael Cole and Joe Mullinax discuss being DOOMED and Jahmai Mashack officially joining the Grizzlies on a two-way deal on this episode of Locked on Grizzlies!

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