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Report Card: Grizzlies vs. Warriors Game 4

Grizzlies Report Card

Grizzlies 84 - Warriors 101

Coach Dave Joerger:

Grade: C-

It was really not a great game for Joerger. Warriors coach Steve Kerr made his adjustments on the defensive end, and it completely threw a wrench into the Grizzlies offense. Joerger and his staff have tons of things to look at on film but only a short time to dissect and implement a new strategy to counteract what Kerr and the Warriors did. I think Joerger is a really good coach, and he's going to get a chance to prove that in game five.


Mike Conley: 33 MINS | 10 PTS | 4-15 FGS | 7 ASTS |-15

Grade: D

This post-game Mike Conley quote terrifies me and it should most Grizz fans as well: "I'm just trying to make it, man. It's tougher and tougher each game." What this guy did in game two was stuff of legends: broken face, red eyeball, literally vomiting and experiencing light and sound sensitivity just days before the game. And all he did was go out and wreck the newly crowned MVP of the NBA. But I think reality may be setting in a bit for Mike. I mean, what did we expect? The guy's injured, and he's having to expend a great deal of energy on both ends of the floor. How long could he realistically keep up with Steph Curry? But Mike is a gladiator, and he'll give everything he has to this team and this series. But will it be enough?

Courtney Lee: 30 MINS | 6 PTS | 3-7 FGS | 3 REBS |-8

Grade: D+

Courtney Lee has been great in the playoffs. But last night we got the C-Lee that we'd seen for the majority of the second half of the season. He didn't make a three; he was passive; he just wasn't in sync offensively (but this is not exclusive to Courtney). He did, however, continue to defend well, so that's positive, I guess. But the Grizz need C-Lee to make threes, especially with the way the Warriors chose to defend the Grizzlies in game four.

Tony Allen: 16 MINS | 4 PTS | 2-9 FGS | 5 REBS |-10

Grade: F

Allow to preface all of this by saying Tony Allen has been arguably the best and most consistent player for the Grizzlies not in the playoffs, but for a good chunk of the regular season, too. But last night was a complete disaster for TA. Kerr put Andrew Bogut on Tony Allen and dared him to shoot the basketball. He did. It did not end well. In fact, TA took as many threes as Courtney Lee and two more shots overall. That's a losing proposition for the Grizz. On top of the major concerns with the adjustments the Warriors made, there was chatter last night that Tony may have yanked a hammy or some other leg muscle and that was the reason for his low minutes total. The Grizz cannot afford to deal with more injuries right now. They need a fully engaged and healthy Tony Allen to have any shot at winning the series. The Grizz did not get that last night.

Zach Randolph: 31 MINS | 12 PTS | 5-10 FGS | 11 REBS |-21

Grade: B-

Z-Bo was pretty Z-Boish for the most part, but the Grizzlies couldn't get him the ball. Zach averaged 64 touches in games two and three. He got 43 touches in game four (shout out to Peter Edmiston for the stats), and that was, in large part, due to putting Bogut on TA, allowing him to clog the paint. It was the Popovichian defense Grizz fans might remember from the 2013 Western Conference Finals. Now Joerger is charged with the task of getting his horse the basketball where he can score.

Marc Gasol: 38 MINS | 19 PTS | 7-19 FGS | 10 REBS | 6 ASTS | -18

Grade: B

Marc was one of the lone relative bright spots for the Grizz. He wasn't great, but he was pretty good, honestly. He didn't score the ball very efficiently, but he did finish with 19 points and stuffed the stat sheet everywhere else. It's pretty simple: The Grizz are going to need Marc Gasol to be at an All-Star level in order to win this series, and he was pretty close to that last night.


Kosta Koufos: 5 MINS | 2 PTS | 1-3 FGS | 2 REBS| -8

Grade: C+

This guy has to play more. If the Warriors are going to play Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green at the four, then play Kosta and Z-Bo or Kosta and Marc together, and try to force Kerr to make an adjustment. Maybe it fails, but I guarantee you Kerr thought putting Bogut on TA was a risky move and might fail. It's worth a shot. Trying to match them by putting Jeff Green at the four just isn't really working, and it's really not who the Grizzlies are as a team. Kosta is arguably the fifth or sixth best player on this team, and he's got to log more than five freaking minutes.

Vince Carter: 24 MINS | 10 PTS| 4-9 FGS | 7 REBS |-7

Grade: B

I actually thought Vince Carter was good, relative to what he's been for most of this season. I actually think VC has been pretty good for the most part in the playoffs (and by pretty good, I mean he hasn't killed the Grizzlies when he's been out there). Last night, he knocked down a three, he grabbed seven rebounds, and closed out on defense as well as he possibly could. Good job. Good effort, Half Man Half Amazing.

Jeff Green: 34 MINS | 12 PTS | 4-8 FGS | 3 REBS |-9

Grade: C-

I don't really know where to begin with Jeff Green. His stats actually don't look that bad, but I don't feel like they were a proper indicator of how he played last night. Jeff tends to get himself in trouble on offense when he just wanders around the perimeter dribbling the ball. That's when he turns the ball over or picks up his dribble before he knows what he's doing with the basketball. And on defense, he tends to fall asleep at the most inopportune times and give up an easy bucket. And when he closes out, his feet are so slow to recover that guys are able to drive right past him. But he did attack the rim several times last night which almost always ends in a good result for the Grizzlies, and he hit a corner three, so that's good. But, yeah, Jeff Green is kind of frustrating. I'm just going to stop typing because I feel like I could go on and on about how I've really come to dislike Uncle Jeff after being pretty optimistic about the idea of bring him on board.

Beno Udrih: 17 MINS | 4 PTS | 2-5 FGS| 3 ASTS |-2

Grade: D

Ever since his injury in the Trail Blazers series, Beno just hasn't been the same. I don't think anyone expected him to score 20 every night, but I think it was fair to say he would hang around 8-10 points a night and be the offensive spark off the bench that the Grizz need. But he just doesn't look quite right, and I think it's just another case of being banged up.

Nick Calathes: 3 MINS | 0 PTS | 0-0 FGS| 1 REB| 2 ASTS |+4

Grade: C

Garbage time.

Jordan Adams: 2 MINS | 1 PT | 0-1 FGS|+2

Grade: A+

No real reason for giving him this grade. He's just Jordan Adams, so why not?

Jon Leuer: 3 MINS | 2 PTS | 1-2 FGS| 2 REB|+4

Grade: A+

(See above reasoning for Jordan Adams' grade.)

JaMychal Green: 3 MINS | 2 PTS | 0-0 FGS| 1 REB| 1 STL | 1 BLK |+3

Grade: C

Garbage time stat sheet stuffer.


Russ Smith

Jarnell Stokes


The crowd was awesome. Beale Street was lit before the game. The outside of FedexForum was turnt before the game. Then the party moved inside and the crowd was as loud as you can expect in a blowout. They even got a DE-FENSE chant going down 16 in the fourth quarter. Good stuff, Memphis. You showed up.