2 weeks Ago By The Commercial Appeal
Friday was all-or-nothing. Either the Memphis Grizzlies were going home with a disappointing finish, or they were going to return to the playoffs after missing the dance last season. Memphis was determined to reach the next step.
Ja Morant played through an ankle injury. Marvin Bagley battle through an illness that forced him to miss Thursday's practice. He nearly threw up at halftime on Friday while battling nausea, but he put together 15 productive minutes off the bench.
In the end, the Grizzlies weren't going to be denied. Memphis pulled out a 120-106 victory against the Dallas Mavericks to clinch their spot in the NBA playoffs. Friday's win was satisfying.
Especially in front of a raucous FedExForum crowed that Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo called "special" to experience.But now, Memphis must turn the page. And fast.
The Grizzlies will take on the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday (12 p.m., ABC).
Games against the Thunder didn't go well for Memphis during the regular season. The Grizzlies lost all four meetings by double digits. "They're probably the best team in the league, or they have been for however many months," Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama said.
"They play really well. Selfless team. A lot of talent.
When a team shares the ball like that, it's tough to guard because everyone becomes involved." 'Focus on us' A lot of attention will be on the Thunder. They won an NBA-best 68 games, which was 16 better than the next best team in the West.
But after Friday's game, there was a similar message among most Grizzlies players."Focus on us," Desmond Bane said. "If we do what we're supposed to do, it'll be good enough.
" Particularly, the message of internal focus was shared by the Grizzlies' big three of Bane, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. That trio has led Memphis all season, and it will be relied on again.So how does Memphis focus on itself? For Bane, one of the main keys is taking care of the ball.
Morant, when asked about the Thunder, focused on defense. "Guard the ball," Morant said. "That's pretty much it.
Guard without fouling, keep your guy in front, rebound. Offensively, be us.""We just need to follow our game plan," Jackson added.
"Make things simple, limit our turnovers. Try to take away their strengths and focus on ours."The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander challenge After Bane mentioned limiting turnovers, he then pointed out that the Grizzlies must do their best in trying to contain MVP candidate and league-leading score Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
That will be a focal point leading up to Sunday. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 36.3 points in four regular season wins against the Grizzlies.
With Jaylen Wells injured, Scotty Pippen Jr. has assumed the role of top perimeter defender for the Grizzlies. He'll be mostly tasked with guarding Gilgeous-Alexander.
"I'm just going to try to make it difficult for him," Pippen said. "Try to limit him as much as I can, and try to do everything I can to win."Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal.
Contact Damichael at [email protected].
Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies discuss playoffs series vs OKC Thunder.
