We Watched It So You Didn’t Have To: Memphis Grizzlies vs Portland Blazers

Second-round rookie Dillon Brooks and journeyman Tyreke Evans lead the way for Memphis

Picking up on an experiment from a couple weeks ago, it’s time to watch an off-the-radar basketball game to see what we can learn from two teams that don’t often get the national spotlight. Last time, we visited Brooklyn and Orlando. This one was more meaningful between two teams expected to fight for a Western playoff spot and it came down to the final shot, with Memphis holding on for a 98–97 road victory.

The game was a bit of a slog, especially the first half. It was played at a snail’s pace, no real surprise since the Grizzlies rank last in the league in pace, and it never found much of a rhythm at either end, with fouls and turnovers aplenty. Still, every game is a data point and there’s always something to learn, so let’s draw some conclusions with the usual caveats on one-game samples.

1. Dillon Brooks looks like a real find for Memphis

Dillon Brooks was everywhere. You’d never know it reading a box score (seven points on 3/8 shooting and a -3 plus/minus) but Brooks felt like the game’s MVP and a Tony Allen replacement in the making.

Brooks is a second-round pick out of Oregon, so you definitely watched a handful of his games from the past few March Madness runs. Brooks was the PAC-12 Player of the Year but dropped to the 45th pick because he lacked that one elite skill. It looks like he could be this year’s Malcolm Brogdon.

Brooks is a pesky and willing defender, and he always seems to be around the action. It feels like he gets to every 50–50 ball and he usually picked up the ball handler as the Grizzlies settled into a half-court defense, pestering Lillard and McCollum all game. You can tell Brooks has a high basketball IQ. He plays the passing lanes well and doesn’t panic in defense, staying with his matchup without taking many fouls. He tends to get into the air on pump fakes at times and will need to curb that habit, but he’s also good at staying on the ball and forcing a tougher shot. Think Danny Green. Brooks was a combo forward in college but at 6'6 with a tragic wingspan, he’ll need to play the two. That’s perfectly fine if he can take the point guard each time down the court and save Conley the grind.

Offensively, Brooks plays a role but isn’t a big impact guy. He makes quick, smart passes to move the ball along, a good sign, and he’s usually in the right spot. The next step is to find a shot. Brooks is shooting just 26% from downtown. If he can add a corner three, he’ll be an invaluable 3-and-D guy, but right now it’s just D. Brooks shot 34% his first two season at Oregon before leaping to 40% his final year, so there’s hope for improvement. It feels like there’s a role there on offense, like he’s closer to Brogdon than Tony Allen. Either would be pretty valuable, especially considering Brooks will make $816,000 this year and just $3.8 million over the next three seasons. That’s valuable on any team, but for a team with $80 million committed to three guys (one of whom is Chandler Parsons), it’s an absolute life saver.

Fittingly, it was Brooks guarding McCollum on the final possession with the game on the line. He picked C.J. up full court, gave up a decent step-back look that rimmed out, then recovered well to chase McCollum into the corner and get a couple hands in his face that prevented him from getting a second attempt off before the buzzer. Job done.

Brooks led the Grizzlies in minutes (38), rebounds (8), steals (3), and blocks (2). In a game full of dazzling guards, he was the one guy I couldn’t take my eyes off. He may already be the third most important Memphis player asset. Brooks will be 22 in January so the upside is not as high, but I have a feeling the Grizzlies will be perfectly fine with the player they got.

2. Tyreke Evans looked good leading the bench unit

Evans signed a one-year $3.3-million contract and looks worth every penny. He ran the bench unit from the point and closed the game out at forward, doing a bit of everything and looking a lot like the Tyreke Evans of old.

It looked like the Grizzlies were finally moving on from a bygone era when they let Tony Allen, Vince Carter, and Zach Randolph walk, but maybe they were just moving on to younger options. If Dillon Brooks is the new Tony Allen, Reke might be the new VC.

The Grizzlies bench unit has been surprisingly effective this season, and it’s clear Evans is the biggest reason for success. He can still slice and euro-step his way to the rim with ease, and his finishing looks good with a career-high 53% two-point percentage. There are still some loose passes, but the thing that really catches your eye is Tyreke’s shot. It looks good out of his hand, and the numbers back it up. Evans leads the Grizzlies in threes with 22 makes, shooting a sizzling 43% from downtown. That’s a career-high and due to regress, but Evans is hitting 38% of his treys over the last three seasons, a clear improvement from 28% over the first six. That shot is falling.

Evans actually led the Grizzlies in scoring and field goal attempts with 21 points on 8/15 shooting. That appears to be by design. Evans is averaging 17.5ppg, one of only three Grizzlies in double figures, and he’s the lone creator outside of Mike Conley. He looks like someone that will spark this bench unit all season, an early contender for Sixth Man of the Year.

3. The game saw almost nothing from the forwards on either end

It felt like we might as well have been playing a BIG3 game, and it certainly would’ve been a lot more open and entertaining. Both sides had plenty of guard play and featured a gentle giant in the post, but the game was severely lacking in dynamic forward play.

JaMychal Green is still out for Memphis, while Al-Farouq Aminu is nursing a sprained ankle back to health. Both guys would’ve added some much-needed spacing to this game. Instead it was James Ennis, Jarell Martin, Moe Harkless, and Noah Vonleh getting the start with Chandler Parsons and Evan Turner eating up minutes and cap space off the bench.

The starting forwards weren’t bad. They just weren’t much of anything. Ennis runs well in transition. Harkless is a good help defender. Vonleh was a beast on the boards. They rotated on defense. They were fine. But if you didn’t look for them, you’d barely even notice an impact.

The expensive bench forwards were busts. Evan Turner likes to have the ball in his hands too often. Portland staggers Lillard and McCollum well, but they continue to run their two-lead-guard offense either way which gives The Villain a few too many touches. Turner scored 16, mostly on free throws, but he had a handful of careless turnovers and some ugly shots. Chandler Parsons was worse. He made one shot and was brutal defensively, offering zero lateral quickness and getting beat like a drum on that end. He either picked up a foul or oléd his man to the rim like a bullfighter with a red carpet. Parsons had five fouls and five turnovers in 23 minutes.

Parsons and Turner are owed $126 million over the next three years.

Ten other parting shots…

1. The Grizzlies ain’t going anywhere. They’re 7–4 with wins against the Warriors, Rockets (x2), Pelicans, and Blazers. That’s seven wins despite the toughest strength of schedule in the league and without JaMychal Green. Wins against Portland and New Orleans will be especially important in April when the battle for the last couple playoff spots is tight.
2. C.J. McCollum put up a Klay Thompson Special. He had 36 and was unstoppable down the stretch, constantly at the rim with his great dribble. But he finished with a 36/2/1 line and only five free throw attempts despite taking 26 shots. You’d like to see him get some easier points or create a bit more for teammates.
3. It seems like Portland should be a run-and-gun offense with plenty of shooting, but it felt a lot more like the Raptors with a pair of guards taking turns and a heavy reliance on free throws. Portland recorded only 11 assists and hit just six threes. They rank 26th and 25th in the league in those statistics. The Blazers are top five in free throws but rank 29th in two-point percentage, and that’s not helped by a lack of spacing where only Pat Connaughton really adds much outside of Dame and C.J. On top of that, Portland didn’t get a fast break bucket until the fourth quarter. Credit Memphis for getting back on the break and playing tough defense all game, but this did not look like a high-end Blazers offense.
4. Damian Lillard was pretty quiet, pestered all night by Brooks and Conley. He finished with 12 points on 4/16 shooting and didn’t feel like he affected the game a ton until the fourth quarter. That was in contrast to Conley, who didn’t score early but always felt very involved in the game.
5. The Conley-Gasol two-man game is something special. Gasol has that soft touch in the post, and he worked hard to get Conley going after a scoreless first half. Conley scored 13 in the third and affected the game well even when his shot didn’t fall. The Conley-Gasol pick-and-roll is deadly. Gasol’s shot is money, and Conley is scoring if he gets even a half-step to the rim.
6. Shabazz Napier was a not-terrible C.J. McCollum facsimile off the bench for Portland. He scored 12 points on 5/8 shooting and looked the part. Napier finished with a +9 in 20 minutes and it never felt like a real drop-off when he was out there.
7. Marc Gasol is still a really good defender. His feet are slow laterally but he makes up for it with physical girth and quick hands, bodying guys up and poking the ball away. He does well to keep his hands up and gather blocks naturally (he had four), and he poked a few balls away from opposing bigs, steals that got credited to teammates who recovered them.
8. Pat Connaughton can do some things. He feels a bit Redick-y, dangerous off screens with a delicious shot, and he can dribble a bit too.
9. Portland bigs were great on the boards but didn’t offer much else. Noah Vonleh and Ed Davis each had 10 rebounds, including seven combined offensive boards that led to easy buckets. Jusuf Nurkic got into foul trouble and was not a big factor, and rookies Caleb Swanigan and Zach Collins didn’t play. None of the Portland big men offered much rim protection — the Blazers finished with only one block — and none of them could stay with Conley on the pick-and-roll.
10. Portland fans are forgiven if they feel like the refs cost them this game. There were probably at least five 50–50 calls that all went the Grizzlies’ way including a missed offensive goaltending and some ticky-tack fouls, two in a dead ball spot. That’s not what you’re looking for from the refs in a home game you lose by a point.

If you enjoyed this piece, give it a few claps 👏 👏 so others see it too! Follow Brandon on Medium or @wheatonbrando for more sports, humor, pop culture, and life musings. Visit Brandon’s writing archives here. H/t Basketball Reference.