MY ACCOUNT
Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins explained how his team are sticking to their identity in the continued absence of talisman Ja Morant.
Grizzlies’ top scorer Morant has not featured since playing in a defeat to the Atlanta Hawks earlier in March and is expected to miss much of the remainder of the regular season due to a knee problem.
However, the Grizzlies improved to 17-2 without their main man in the team as they claimed a mightily impressive 127-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
That means they have now won their last four games since Morant was out of the team, as they sit second in the Western Conference with a 52-23 record for the season.
“We’re just sticking with our identity,” Jenkins told reporters after the game, as quoted by ESPN.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a starter, bench, mixed lineups. Whatever we do, we do to the best of our abilities.”
A player to start on the bench, De’Anthony Melton, ultimately finished as Memphis’ leading scorer on 24 points, while Desmond Bane added 20.
“I’m just trying to go out there and hoop,” Melton said. “Have fun with it. Play with confidence and do what the team needs me to do.”
Contributions of 19 and 16 from Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr. respectively helped the Grizzlies fend off Milwaukee, whose attempted fightback was led by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s double-double of 30 points and 11 rebounds.
“They just do a lot of things that are about winning basketball,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer of the Grizzlies.
“Credit to their players, to the coaching staff. They just keep playing no matter who’s in.
“It felt like [Antetokounmpo] tried to will us back into the game. It felt like we had some momentum for some small stretches there in the third quarter, where I felt like we might get back in it, but we weren’t able to sustain it.”
