Portland Trail Blazers bench experiences deja vu, lose to the Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 92-83.

After a disappointing loss against the Houston Rockets, the Portland Trail Blazers dropped another game in a similar fashion. They got up early in the first quarter, by as much as 11, and then once the bench got put in, they lost the lead and could never get it back. The only difference, the final score and the opponent. This time, they fell to the Memphis Grizzlies, 92-81.

The Blazers drop to 15-13, and the Grizzles leapfrog them in the standings as they improve to 16-11.

Without CJ McCollum, the Blazers may have scored less than 60 points. He dropped a nice 40-piece to go along with his four rebounds and two assists. He was by far the best Blazer on the floor, and Portland needed every little bit to keep this one competitive past the quarter.

Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic combined for an abysmal 5/33 from the field and 16 points – only two of those coming from Nurk. Neither could get anything going throughout the game. While Lillard did get a deep three to go late in the third to give the Blazers a lift, he continued shooting to Portland’s detriment. And everything Nurkic put up bonked off the rim and out. Tonight was neither of their nights.

Outside of them and CJ, the rest of the team shot only 27 times. This points to a problem that prevailed throughout the match. The offense was stagnant yet again as Lillard and McCollum traded multiple one-on-one possessions or dumped it down low for Nurkic to do nothing with it.

It’s becoming obvious this team is rapidly losing trust in their bench. Not only did the stars take over to shoot a large portion of the team’s shots, but Head Coach Terry Stotts opted to stagger the bench’s minutes more with the starters. Plus, he even put Caleb Swanigan in for six minutes when it became clear that neither Zach Collins or Meyers Leonard were helping.

Swanigan was a bright spot in this game. In his few minutes, he showed a tenacity in calling for the ball whenever he got a mismatch, he bullied his way inside for a nice bucket over Marc Gasol, and he even helped draw a defensive three-second call. He finished the night with two points, a rebound, and the team’s best plus-minus of +1.

The man we call Biggie may very well have earned himself some more minutes in their next game if Collins and Leonard continue disappointing.

Although the game was mostly a slow-moving slugfest that favored the Grizzlies, Portland did manage to get the game to 79-78 with 4:05 left to go in the fourth. Unfortunately, they went onto score only five points after that.

Ball movement stopped. The Grizzlies hit big shots, including a three-pointer from Jaren Jackson Jr. to seal it. CJ’s hot hand extinguished.

In their win, Mike Conley put up 23 points, six assists, and six rebounds. Jackson added 14 points, two assists, and six boards. And Marc Gasol contributed nine points, five assists and seven rebounds.

If Portland’s woes continue, they may need to make a deal before the February deadline is up – that is, if they wish to remain in the Western Conference playoff race.

Coming up next, they face the Toronto Raptors on December 14 at 7:00 P.S.T.