The Memphis Grizzlies and the first test of adversity for their young core: eighth loss in nine games

since then peculiar night in los angeleswith a loss to the Lakers and feud with exNFL Shannon Sharpe, making it a less than perfect season for the The Memphis Grizzlies were completely disbanded. Taylor Jenkins They fell this Sunday to the Toronto Raptors 106-103losing a +8 lead in the fourth quarter and now piling on eight defeats in their last nine appearances.

The loss against the Raptors, while painful, is the lesser of evilswhen deletions of incumbents such as Ja Morad and suspension Dillon Brooks. What will really be a test for these Grizzlies, though, is how your young core responds to the first moment of real adversity from establishing the group as a force in the West.

Last season it exceeded all expectations and after beating Minnesota in the 1st round of the Playoffs, the Eliminated against the Warriors in the Western Semifinals it left no scope for criticism or questioning. And after opening this campaign with Point 31-13With an 11-game winning streak (and 9 more to go), the Grizzlies seemed to be in steady upward trajectoryalmost no obstacles in the way.

And suddenly the stones appeared. The offense has fallen into a deep pit in recent weeks, the defense is no guarantee either and above all the second unit performance makes it clear that Memphis is missing a few pieces to gain power in the bank.

In this losing streak, the Grizzlies bench has a difference of -6.3 points per player. Only the San Antonio Spurs (-7) appear worse than their replacement players.

The match against Toronto was another example of this: none of the Memphis relievers scored more than 6 runsunlike some Raptors who found 17 from Chris Boucher and 14 from Thaddeus Young.

The script leaves two issues to be noted. One, if the Grizzlies decide make a move in the next few hours, just to strengthen that weak second unit they present today. The other, more important in the long run, is the team response to adversity and criticism. Are they moving forward and regaining the level of the past few months or is there a disruption that will have implications for the future?

In this sense, there are some signs that trigger alarms. On the non-sports side, it’s been a rough couple of weeks for Memphis, with various controversies and controversies involving Ja Morant and Dillon Brooksbeyond some unpleasant statements of the point guard himself, who, for example, claimed that he is not worried about any of the opponents from the West.

the grizzlies they flew too high, too soon, and in 2022-2023 it made them fall through the roof. We will see how and when they manage to stop the decline.

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