Grind City GameDay: Grizzlies vs. Magic
Michael WallaceBy Michael Wallace
Grind City MediaMEMPHIS – With the Grizzlies now down to just nine healthy players, general manager Chris Wallace says he’s exploring all options to get the team through the busiest month of games on the schedule.
Memphis opens December with Thursday’s matchup against the Orlando Magic at FedExForum, which is the first of 17 games it will play in 31 days – all without injured star point guard Mike Conley. Thursday marks the first home game since Conley fractured vertebrae in his back in Monday’s loss to the Hornets.
With Conley expected to miss about six weeks, Wallace is sorting through multiple scenarios in an effort to fill the void created by the absence of Memphis’ leader in scoring and assists at the most demanding time of the regular season. The Grizzlies (11-8) could learn early next week if the league will grant them a special injury exception to add a 16th player to the roster until others get healthy.
Memphis is also without Brandan Wright (ankle), Chandler Parsons (knee) and James Ennis (calf) because of injuries. Vince Carter was also hurt in Monday’s loss to Charlotte and missed Wednesday’s game with a sore hip. In addition to those absences, Zach Randolph has been away from the team since last week following the death of his mother on Thanksgiving day.
Wallace said he was encouraged by the Grizzlies’ effort in Wednesday’s 120-105 loss in Toronto, where they led at halftime and were competitive until the Raptors pulled away early in the fourth quarter.
“The reality is that we’re looking at guys,” Wallace said Thursday of working out available guards to potentially add to the team. “The major emphasis is we’re hunkering down right now with what we have. Even though I’m not a big moral victories’ guy, I did take some degree of solace in that some of our guys stepped up. If we can get that kind of effort and focus every night, we’ll weather this storm.”
The Grizzlies hope to particularly see guards Andrew Harrison and Troy Daniels build on their strong showings against the Raptors. Harrison, who has been erratic as Conley’s primary backup in recent weeks, scored a career-high 21 points and had four assists and three steals in 35 minutes. Daniels finally found the three-point stroke that had evaded him all season and was 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.
How well Harrison plays over the next few games could determine the Grizzlies’ immediate course. Among the guards on their radar are Kendall Marshall, Toney Douglas and Will Bynum although that list could expand should the Grizzlies explore trade options for more long-term help.
Wallace emphasized the franchise is confident Conley will recover and come back strong this season. That was the case two years ago when Conley fractured bones in his face in a first-round playoff series against Portland and returned by Game 2 of the Grizzlies’ second-round series against Golden State.
“He’s a naturally positive guy and he’ll bounce back,” Wallace said. “He’s been through this before, you know, being knocked out for a little while. And he’s always come back strong. Mike is a fast healer. He’ll do all the work necessary in rehab, and we have a lot of great people running that program. So I can’t say anything more than he’ll be back when he’s ready to come back, whatever point that is down the road.”
HEALTH REPORT
Memphis continues to be without Randolph (bereavement), Ennis (calf), Parsons (knee), Carter (hip) and Wright (ankle). For the Magic, Elfrid Payton (ankle) is questionable after landing on a teammate’s foot in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s win in San Antonio.
NUMBERS WATCH
13. The Grizzlies had 13 steals against the Raptors, with forward JaMychal Green setting a career high with five. It’s the fourth time they’ve had at least 13 steals in a game this season. Memphis must maintain that aggressive approach and defensive mindset with a third of the roster injured or away from the team. The effort in Toronto boosted the Grizzlies in the league statistical rankings, where they are now tied for 10th in steals entering Thursday’s game against Orlando.
KEEP AN EYE ON
Troy Daniels. It certainly registers as a breakout performance. But was it a fluke? Only the coming games will tell for Daniels, who looks to extend his hot hand from the loss in Toronto, where he scored a season-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field overall and was 4-of-8 from three-point range. Before Wednesday’s game, Daniels had scored just 13 total points through the season’s first month. Putting together consecutive productive outings will be crucial for Daniels, who was acquired in free agency last summer alongside Parsons to bring Memphis some much-needed shooting and floor spacing.
GRIZZ-TAKE
Tony Allen on the Grizzlies persevering through all of the player absences – The focus and effort was there. Considering the fact we had nine players, not that much experience, we fought hard.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Michael Wallace are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
Published on Dec 01, 2016
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