It’s a tough night to be a Memphis Grizzlies fan.
The Houston Rockets obliterated the depleted Grizzlies tonight 130-81, giving them a tidy 49 point victory. Memphis, who entered the game ahead of Houston in the standings, never led in the game, as the Rockets got off to a 21-6 lead in the first quarter, and led by 24 points at the half. Things didn’t get much better for the Grizzlies, as the Rockets extended their lead by more than 40 points in the third and dominated throughout.
Memphis ended up shooting a putrid 29.7 percent from the field while the Rockets almost doubled them shooting a crisp 54.1 percent.
I mean, look how damn sad this tweet is.
#Grizzlies trail the #Rockets at end of 3Q, 97-54. @TheRyanHollins has 9pts(4-5) in 20 min of play. #Grizz shoot 28% pic.twitter.com/BrVFY4Cs3w
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) March 15, 2016
It’s hard to fault the Grizzlies though as their roster is as depleted as any sports team I’ve ever seen. Memphis waived Mario Chalmers after he ruptured his Achilles, Marc Gasol is done for the season, Jordan Adams is out indefinitely, Zach Randolph, Chris Andersen and Mike Conley all have missed five straight games, Vince Carter is day-to-day and recent revelation Lance Stephenson missed tonight’s game with a wrist injury.
Memphis fielded a lineup of mostly no-names, including three players on 10-day contracts (Briante Weber, Ray McCallum and Alex Stephenson) and another player who signed for the rest of the season after being on two 10-days (Ryan Hollins). The starting five consisted of JaMychal Green, Matt Barnes, Tony Allen, Hollins and Weber, while Jarrell Martin, P.J. Hariston (who left the game after getting hurt), McCallum and A. Stephenson came off the bench. That’s not exactly a dream team.
The Grizzlies can take solace in the fact they still sit firmly in fifth in the Western Conference and some players should be coming back soon, but the loss was humiliatingly lopsided.
The grind continues as Memphis faces the Timberwolves on Wednesday. I’m sure the Grizzlies have already erased the loss from their memory.
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