The loss of leading scorer Tony Wroten to a partial ACL tear seemed to hurt the Sixers mindset as they went into last night’s game versus an experienced Memphis Grizzlies team. Memphis came into the game winning five of their last six games, while the Sixers were looking to get back on the winning track after losing their last four games. But the Grizzlies had other thoughts as they thumped the Sixers 101-83. Saturday was not the best day to be a fan of the Sixers.
Turnovers and poor shooting again were the main story in the loss last night to Memphis. The Sixers committed 24 turnovers and only shot a dismal 38.3 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from the free throw line. The offense was unable to find any sort of spark throughout the night and the defense was unable to stop the Grizzlies veterans, led by Jeff Green’s 18 points on 6/11 shooting and Zach Randolph’s 17 points on 8/11 shooting. Randolph also accumulated 14 rebounds to go along with his scoring, while also contributing four assists on the night. Another veteran Vince Carter was able to provide Memphis with some quality minutes off the bench as he pitched in when called upon for 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists in just 23 minutes of action.
As for the Sixers, Jerami Grant was the bright spot on the night and that may be surprising to some but something tells me that surprise won’t linger for too long because the Sixers hit the jackpot with this kid. He has a future in this league and hopefully with the Sixers as a quality role player who can step in and produce numbers when needed. Grant led the team by coming off the bench and hitting on five of his ten shots, resulting in 16 points during his 26 minutes of game action last night. His ability to get down low and do the dirty work in the paint has been noticed but it’s his ability to step out and shoot the three that’s pushing him over the top. Grant was two of four from downtown again last night, and in fact, he’s nailed 11 of his 22 three-point attempts over the past nine games after only hitting on 4 of 25 attempts in his first 20 games. His ability to take and make the three is the reason he’s seeing more minutes and hopefully we continue to see improvement from the rookie. Furkan Aldemir had a decent night notching a career high 11 rebounds but still no sign of his offensive game coming across the Atlantic. As you can tell, it was a rough night for our young Sixers with not too many bright spots.
Memphis shot the ball well, forced 24 Sixers turnovers, out rebounded the Sixers, beat Philadelphia 52-32 in the paint, made 21 foul shots opposed to the Sixers 12, and received production from their veterans which the Sixers don’t have any right now. The Sixers can’t turn the ball over 24 times. That is way too much if they want to have any chance to beat a team. As for bright patches of sunlight though, Jerami Grant continues to turn heads and Coach Brett Brown has to be liking what he’s seeing from the rookie. After the loss, the Sixers fall to 8-36, while Memphis improves 31-12 on the season.
Next Up: Monday @ New Orleans, 8pm tip.
