After their home matchup against the Nuggets was postponed on Sunday due to snow and ice in Memphis, the Grizzlies traveled to Houston on Monday night, where they lost 108-99.
It’s been an interesting few days for Grizzlies fans.
Saturday morning, the Grizzlies released an official medical update on Ja Morant: He suffered a UCL sprain in his left elbow during the January 21st home game against the Atlanta Hawks and will be reevaluated in approximately three weeks.
Monday evening, we learned that three Grizzlies’ players were selected to participate in the 2026 Rising Stars game during NBA All-Star weekend. Rookie Cedric Coward and sophomores Jaylen Wells and Cam Spencer will represent in a mini-tournament that spotlights the league’s top rookies and sophomores.
Houston, we have a problem.
Also on Monday evening, the Grizzlies faced one of their Southwest Division rivals, but despite leading by as many as 10 points at times, they could not withstand the Rockets’ offensive onslaught.
Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun put up 33 points apiece, combining for 66 of Houston’s 108 points. The Grizzlies’ two top scorers combined for 34 points, which is not ideal, to say the least.
Turnovers and poor shooting once again plagued the Grizzlies, which should not be a surprise to anyone who has paid attention this season.
It was a rare game where Memphis’ committed fewer turnovers — 13 compared to Houston’s 16 — yet the Rockets scored 18 points off turnovers, while the Grizzlies scored 19.
This was one of the worst three-point shooting games of the year for Memphis, which went 7 of 37 from beyond the arc.
The already short-handed Grizzlies were missing Jock Landale’s contributions off the bench. He was listed as out due to unspecified personal reasons. Memphis needs as many healthy bodies on the court as they can get, and Landale has been a spark with the second unit.
With half of the season over, it remains to be seen if the Grizzlies can turn this dumpster fire around and at least make the play-in. I don’t buy the tanking narrative, because is it really tanking if your team just sucks?
By the Numbers:
Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks.
Santi Aldama also finished with 17 points, as well as 7 rebounds, and two assists.
Jaylen Wells added 12 points and 6 rebounds.
GG Jackson led the second unit with 14 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 11 points, three rebounds, and one assist.
Honorable mention for Cam Spencer, who only scored five points but dished out 13 of the team’s 26 assists.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are set to return to FedExForum on Wednesday to face the Charlotte Hornets. Most streets in Memphis are still covered in ice, so I don’t expect this to be a heavily attended game. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.