The Grizzlies are in SERIOUS trouble... | Memphis Grizzlies News

The Grizzlies are in serious trouble. If the playoffs start today, the Memphis Grizzlies would be in jeopardy of losing their top 4 spot. With key players sidelined and the team's performance slipping, they're at risk of falling further in the standings. Fans are left wondering how the once promising season has taken such a dramatic turn. The Grizzlies have been struggling to find their rhythm and they need to find it fast. With other teams surging ahead, every game counts more than ever and the pressure is building. Let's break down what's gone wrong and what needs to happen before it's too late. Hey Grizz Gang, I'm your host Maya McCoy and today we're going to talk about the Grizzlies' tough loss against the Sacramento Kings, 132-122. And look, we have to talk about what this means for our playoff push because the teams behind us, they're closing in fast. In fact, the Lakers just moved up to the number 4 seed, pushing us down to the number 5 seed and that's putting even more pressure on these next couple games. Let's break down what went wrong, how Desmond Bain did all he could, and why these next 5 games on the road are absolutely crucial. Desmond Bain gave a heroic effort, but it just wasn't enough. I mean, he gave everything he had this game, splitting up a career high of 44 points, including 7 made threes. And here's the kicker, he became the first Grizzlies player in history to record 40 plus points, 5 plus made threes on 100% shooting from beyond the arc. That's right, he didn't miss a single 3-pointer. So let's break that down one more time. He hit 44 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 3-pointers made shooting 100% from deep. But here's the issue, no one else stepped up. He literally was carrying the team on his back last night, just like this meme suggests. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 12 points, Brandon Clark had 15 points, Jalen Wells 14 points, Zach Edie 12 points. And the problem, Sacramento had 3 guys over 20 points. Malik Monk had 28 points. He killed us on both ends of the court, defensively and offensively. He was everywhere tonight. Then you had Zach Levine. Zach Levine had 23 points, and you had DeMar DeRosie with 22 points. So even though Bain went off, the King's depth and efficiency made the difference. Key turning points that cost us last night was that turnovers were a killer. The King scored 21 points off of the Grizzlies turnovers. That's free buckets we just handed over. Memphis turned the ball over over 15 times, and Sacramento made us pay each and every time. Then you had Jake's revenge game. The former Grizzly who we just traded, he came in and he dropped 12 points on us. And just like people were saying on social media, we're officially on the wrong side of the revenge game storyline, which was not ideal. And the three-point shooting disparity, I mean the Kings had 20 made threes compared to our 13 made threes. That's a 21 point difference in just three-pointers alone, and you cannot win games like that with such disparity. And what this means for the playoff race, this loss hurts. Not just because it was another winnable game that slipped away, but because of where we are in the standings. As of right now, we were sitting at the number four seed with a 43 to 26 record, but the Western Conference right now is tight. The Pelicans, the Suns, and the Kings are all within striking distance. A bad stretch of games could drop us from home court advantage to a play-in tournament. And guess what? Our next five games are kind of brutal. We have the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday. We should win, but we cannot take them lightly. We have the Clippers on Friday. Jazz on Tuesday, a sneaky tough game. And then we have the Thunder on Thursday. Elite team, that's going to be a major test for us. And then we have the Lakers on Saturday. That's definitely a playoff atmosphere coming. If the Grizzlies don't lock in, we could drop in the standings fast. And just final thoughts on where do we go from here. I mean, our defense has to improve. This team, we held Miami to 97 points, but then we gave up 32 points in Sacramento. We have to be more consistent. Then we have Jaron Jackson Jr. He needs to step up. He's too talented to be scoring only 13 points in a must-win game. And our role players definitely have to contribute more. Desmond Bain cannot do this alone if we want to stay in the top four seed. But what do y'all think Grizz game? Are the Grizzlies in danger of slipping further down in the standings? Or do we still believe they'll be able to stay in the top five? Let me know in the comments below. And before we wrap up, let's take a look at some of the reactions from fans and analysts on social media about last night's game. We had the Michael Cole who says, still got the Clippers and Thunders on this road trip. The urgency was already high, but you have to win at least one of those now in my opinion. Then we have the Sundowners. Is Jenkins going to be on the injury list for either of those games? That's the only way to win without him coaching. Definitely hard on Jenkins there. Put the injured Grizzlies for him. And then you have the Grizzlies have really really missed Saadi Adama this month. Yeah, we definitely are missing Saadi a lot. Then you have the growl towel central who says he is just disgusted by the game against the Kings. That was definitely my mood watching the Grizzlies. My other mood watching the Grizzlies on each turnover they had. Then you had DWW who says they turned the ball over because there is zero roster slash lineup consistency. Not anyone's fault, but just an observation and opinion. Also defense could help. Then like I mentioned earlier, that was Jake's revenge game. His revenge game was crazy. Then you have John Robster who says if the Grizzlies turn the ball over 93 times, they will not win a basketball game against the Sacramento Kings. If the Grizzlies stop turning the ball over every other possession, they would have a chance to win this game. We definitely did not win the game due to turnovers and three-pointers. That's a wrap on the tweets that I've collected. Please hit that like and subscribe button for me. Don't forget to subscribe to Grizzlies Digest for all the latest updates on your Memphis Grizzlies. Turn on your notifications so you don't miss any breakdowns or recaps. Our next game is against Portland on Wednesday. We'll be back with another breakdown after that one. Let's hope for a bounce back.