“Ain’t No Running in The M” Memphis Grizzlies Tie Up Series

The Memphis Grizzlies return to their home court, after getting smacked in the mouth Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1. If Memphis wants to make it out of the first round they need to play more grind-style in the grindhouse. The Grizzlies need to do a few things if they want to win this series, and that has to start tonight. First, they need to find some way to cool down Minnesota from behind the arc. Then they will have to play more grind-style ball, without letting emotions take over. And finally, Ja Morant needs to remind everyone who the future of this league is.

Keys to a Memphis win. 1. Gotta slow them down from 3. 2. Take care of business and don’t get emotional. 3. Ja needs to take over and prove this is his league for the taking #MINvsMEM #NBAPlayoffs2022
— Colton Farmer (@coltonfarmer811) April 20, 2022

Do they get paid by the call?

It seems as though the refs were being paid by the number of fouls they called. In the first three minutes of game action, the fans saw not one but two technical fouls called. The first being on Patrick Beverley when he slapped the ball out of Morant’s hand. The second one came on Steven Adams when he fouled Jarred Vanderbilt on a loose ball. This crew called 20 fouls in the first quarter, with nine fouls coming in the first three and a half minutes. The fouls did slow down in the second quarter. When the final buzzer sounded they had called 50 fouls in the game. The refs loved the sound of their whistles tonight.

Timberwolves went cold from 3

Minnesota shot very well from 3 on Saturday, and it’s one of the reasons they won Game 1. So this had to be a point of emphasis coming into game two, and it was. The Timberwolves never looked comfortable from deep, they shot an abysmal 3 for 9 from the three-point line in the first quarter, and 6 for 19 in the first half. The second half wasn’t much better; they shot 5 for 19 from three. On the flip side, Jaren Jackson Jr. shot 4 for 7 from distance and helped put this game away.

Different team, same play style

Tonight’s game made me remember the Grizzlies of old. Memphis played great team ball; they swarmed to the ball and the basket to get rebounds. The Grizzlies made every shot the Timberwolves took difficult; nothing came easy. You can tell that Memphis and Grizz nation were getting under Minnesota’s skin. The Grizzlies were looking to find open teammates for easy shots, and it showed on the scoreboard. At one point the Grizzlies were even up by 27 and just cruising to a victory.

Ja “Double Double” Morant

Morant had to play a bigger role in this game if Memphis wanted to win this one. And did he ever, and not just on the scoring side. Morant finished the game with 23 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds; one board shy of a playoff triple-double. He was the focus of Minnesota’s defensive game plan. Morant knew this so he let his teammates do all the scoring. I think this just goes to show how versatile Morant truly is. In turn, this is Morant’s league for the taking, if he can keep improving

This is a series.

Memphis showed tonight that this will be a hard-fought series. The Grizzlies bullied the Timberwolves tonight, just like Minnesota bullied Memphis on Saturday. I think we will get a better understanding of how this series will go come Thursday when the Grizzlies head to Minnesota for Game 3. Get your popcorn ready, this is a heavyweight bout. The only question I have remaining is who will land the knockout punch, my money is on Memphis.