On April 17, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA playoffs were in full swing. In a just-concluded Game of Western Focus, the Grizzlies were challenged by the Timberwolves at home. After 48 minutes of fierce competition, the Grizzlies lost to the Timberwolves 117:130, failing to make a playoff start and trailing 0-1 in the series.
The Grizzlies' loss today is generally directly related to the performance of the star Morant. In the whole game, Morant played 35 minutes, only 8 of 18 shots, 0 of 2 of 3-pointers, 16 of 20 free throws, a total of 32 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, while also 3 turnovers, his plus-minus was -16, ranking the worst on the team!
In fact, Morant played well in the first quarter today. Although he has just returned, his hands are excellent, and all five of his shots in this quarter have come from the basket and hit all of them. Moreover, Morant also caused many kills, hitting 5 goals on the free throw line 6 times in a single quarter. In the first quarter alone, Morant scored 15 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist!
However, from the beginning of the second quarter of the game, Morant had no feel, scoring 4 points on 1 of 5 shots in a single quarter, and this bad feel continued into the second half, and Morant only shot 0 of 2 in the 3rd quarter, scoring 6 points from the free throw alone. In the final final showdown, Morant staged a wonderful dunk when he held the ball at the top of the arc, and then broke through into the inside line and double-handedly dunked Russell!
However, throughout the final quarter, Morant continued to perform badly, scoring seven points on 2-of-6 shooting and missing key free throws on multiple occasions. In the end, the Grizzlies lost at home to the Timberwolves, and while failing to make a start, they gave up their home advantage to each other.
It is worth mentioning that in this year's regular season, when Morant was absent from the game, the Grizzlies had a total record of 20 wins and 5 losses. And when he came on the field, the Grizzlies recorded 36 wins and 21 losses, and it is clear that when Morant is away, the Grizzlies have a higher winning percentage, and today's game seems to have once again verified this "spell"!
According to the schedule, the Grizzlies and Timberwolves series G2 will play on April 20, and the Grizzlies will still be at home, and they will go to great lengths to win to avoid falling into a 0-2 disadvantage.