In the absence of Morant, the Grizzlies were still able to beat the Nets with Durant and Irving 132-120 at home, once again showing the terrifying strength of this young new team. After winning this game, the Nets have swallowed six straight losses against the Grizzlies, the longest surviving losing streak they have ever faced 29 teams in the league.
In this game, Irving came back and scored a super performance of 43 points and 8 rebounds on his birthday, and the offensive end was still unsolvable, even under the tenacious defense of the opponent, he was still able to cut 10 points in the fourth quarter, showing a terrible personal offensive ability. Durant contributed a quasi-triple-double with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in this game, scoring 35+ in 3 consecutive games, becoming the first person in The Nets' history.
But despite the big two's inexplicable performance, they still failed to beat the Grizzlies, who lacked a star, which had to be surprising. But for the Grizzlies, who are currently ranked second in the West, such a win is not a upset at all.
Usually without a star, the team's strength will be weakened, but the Grizzlies are just the opposite. According to statistics, this season, they have achieved a total of 15 wins and 2 losses in the game without Morant, with a winning rate of 88%; and 3 statistics have directly improved to the first place in the league, proving that the Grizzlies without Morant are still the top teams in the league.
In Morant's 17-game suspension, the Grizzlies have an offensive efficiency of 118, a defensive efficiency of 100.4, and a net efficiency of +17.5, all three of which have improved to the first place in the league.
Being able to do this just proves that the current Grizzlies have a top-notch offensive and defensive system that allows them to operate efficiently without Morant. At the same time, the talent and ability of other players are outstanding, even without Morant's attack and passing, there are still other players who can stand up and fill the gap.
After the game, Nash said about the Grizzlies' performance, almost directly conceding defeat, praising: "The Grizzlies are a very talented team, their roster is very balanced, they have too many scoring opportunities during the transition", and when talking about the Nets' high-intensity confrontation against the Grizzlies, Nash said: "We are learning from each other, this is an opportunity for us to understand the intensity of the playoffs." ”
The Nets, with top stars like Durant and Irving, are almost the most talented team in the league, but against the Grizzlies, a young team, Nash has to marvel at the talent of their opponents. At the same time, he also recognized the advantage of the Grizzlies, that is, the lineup is more balanced, which is the Biggest problem for the Nets at present. With the exception of Durant and Irving, Nash has not been able to create a balanced offensive and defensive system to unleash the potential of other players to share the pressure on Durant Irving.
After the game, Skip Bayless praised the Grizzlies, writing: "Again, I wouldn't be surprised if the Grizzlies had gone farther than the Suns this season and won the Western Conference Championship, the Grizzlies had just blocked the offensive of durant and Irving, the strongest backcourt scoring duo in history, 78 points, and won by 12 points." All you need to know is that this team has a strong squad and without Morant, their record this year is 15 wins and 2 losses. ”