Steven Adams returned tonight after absents

Steven Adams returned from one game of absents due to a sore right hip tonight. The Memphis had to start the game vs the Heat with 6 players on their injured list: Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Desmond Bane, Ziaire Williams, Jake LaRavia and Danny Green. The rookie David Roddy got his first NBA start as a result.

Miami came out of the gate hot, with Caleb Martin making 4 out 5 of his three-point shooting to end the quarter with 12 points. Memphis manage to keep the score close with Tyus Jones leading the pack with 9 points. They were only 4 points behind.

Coach Jenkins always talked about the “next-man up” mentality. This was fully on display during the second quarter: the rookie Kennedy Chandler, who rarely saw playing times stepped up and filled almost every stats category during this quarter alone. ( 7 points 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 Steal and zero turnovers)

After a series of dreadful displays of unforced turnovers and bad passes from both teams in 3rd quarter, the Grizzlies ended the quarter with only 5 points advantage.

Adams played a total of 27:51 mins as Coach Jenkins gave the younger players more run. Although he doesn’t look impressive on stat sheets, he did make 2 key shots late in the game to seal the game, including this beautiful soft-touch floater: 

Adams finished the game with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. 

The helping hands

Santi Aldama, Brandon Clarke and Billon Brooks all scored doubt figures. Backup point guard Tyus Jones had a monster game and set a new career-high 28 points for himself. After getting a double-double with zero turnovers for 36 minutes, Jones said post-game: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I view myself as a starter in this league. I just happened to come off the bench. ” 

Shorthanded Memphis ended up beating Miami 101 – 93. They will play the next 4 games at home. 

What’s next?

The Grizzlies will host Oklahoma City on Wednesday.