Game 13: MEM vs PHX

[ducler]

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[Whole Truth]

Did I hear the announcer correct in saying Memphis are top 5 defensively ?.

Nice win. 7-6, alone as 7th seed.

Booker thankfully missing an open dunk & 3 in the final minutes swung the game down the stretch.

[VCfor3]

Did I hear the announcer correct in saying Memphis are top 5 defensively ?.

Nice win. 7-6, alone as 7th seed.

Booker thankfully missing an open dunk & 3 in the final minutes swung the game down the stretch.

I think we are #4 defensively and #1 in steals.

A good win for us on national television. Ja looked like he was taking it a little easy coming back from injury but still was a massive difference for us in the game. Love the guy.

[Whole Truth]

Did I hear the announcer correct in saying Memphis are top 5 defensively ?.

Nice win. 7-6, alone as 7th seed.

Booker thankfully missing an open dunk & 3 in the final minutes swung the game down the stretch.

I think we are #4 defensively and #1 in steals.

A good win for us on national television. Ja looked like he was taking it a little easy coming back from injury but still was a massive difference for us in the game. Love the guy.

That's great, do you know where the team ranks offensively ? You know what's odd, is the Raptors also managed to be top 5 defensively starting Jonas ..

I actually missed half the game not realizing it was an early start. I thought Tillman & Ja were playing well 2nd half but see both were -7 & -11 respectively .. Did they struggle early ?.

What's impressive is Memphis are still winning with Brooks not shooting the ball well (1-10), at some point he's bound to get hot being the streaky player/shooter he is.

A half game out of 4th seed. With 3J & Winslow still out.

[VCfor3]

Did I hear the announcer correct in saying Memphis are top 5 defensively ?.

Nice win. 7-6, alone as 7th seed.

Booker thankfully missing an open dunk & 3 in the final minutes swung the game down the stretch.

I think we are #4 defensively and #1 in steals.

A good win for us on national television. Ja looked like he was taking it a little easy coming back from injury but still was a massive difference for us in the game. Love the guy.

That's great, do you know where the team ranks offensively ? You know what's odd, is the Raptors also managed to be top 5 defensively starting Jonas ..

I actually missed half the game not realizing it was an early start. I thought Tillman & Ja were playing well 2nd half but see both were -7 & -11 respectively .. Did they struggle early ?.

What's impressive is Memphis are still winning with Brooks not shooting the ball well (1-10). A half game out of 4th seed.

I think we were 28th offensively ha. Some of that has to do with the fact that we were the slowest pace team for a long stretch there. Gave us less opportunities to score so lower offensive rating each game but also took away opposing possessions so our defensive rating went up.

Still winning with Brooks not shooting well (he did do well on defense and has done a better job facilitating) as well as Ja, JJJ, and Winslow out is huge for us.

[VCfor3]

Did I hear the announcer correct in saying Memphis are top 5 defensively ?.

Nice win. 7-6, alone as 7th seed.

Booker thankfully missing an open dunk & 3 in the final minutes swung the game down the stretch.

I think we are #4 defensively and #1 in steals.

A good win for us on national television. Ja looked like he was taking it a little easy coming back from injury but still was a massive difference for us in the game. Love the guy.

That's great, do you know where the team ranks offensively ? You know what's odd, is the Raptors also managed to be top 5 defensively starting Jonas ..

I actually missed half the game not realizing it was an early start. I thought Tillman & Ja were playing well 2nd half but see both were -7 & -11 respectively .. Did they struggle early ?.

What's impressive is Memphis are still winning with Brooks not shooting the ball well (1-10), at some point he's bound to get hot being the streaky player/shooter he is.

A half game out of 4th seed. With 3J & Winslow still out.

I also missed the first half of the game so don't know how they were then, but I thought they looked good the second half for the most part. Good catch though since I didn't notice their negative plus/minus.

[Whole Truth]

Memphis really nailed the Tillman pick. The Green comparisons are solid, a high IQ player, defender. Hit some timely shots in this one.

[Whole Truth]

I think we are #4 defensively and #1 in steals.

A good win for us on national television. Ja looked like he was taking it a little easy coming back from injury but still was a massive difference for us in the game. Love the guy.

That's great, do you know where the team ranks offensively ? You know what's odd, is the Raptors also managed to be top 5 defensively starting Jonas ..

I actually missed half the game not realizing it was an early start. I thought Tillman & Ja were playing well 2nd half but see both were -7 & -11 respectively .. Did they struggle early ?.

What's impressive is Memphis are still winning with Brooks not shooting the ball well (1-10), at some point he's bound to get hot being the streaky player/shooter he is.

A half game out of 4th seed. With 3J & Winslow still out.

I also missed the first half of the game so don't know how they were then, but I thought they looked good the second half for the most part. Good catch though since I didn't notice their negative plus/minus.

When I looked at the box score at the half, they were -15 & -16 respectively, which suggests a better second half but I know +/- is a team stat & in a small sample doesn't accurately tell the tale of an individuals performance.

[VCfor3]

Memphis really nailed the Tillman pick. The Green comparisons are solid, a high IQ player, defender. Hit some timely shots in this one.

I'm really liking him so far. Looks like we may have finally found our long term backup big. I think he also will be really good with JJJ since both can guard PFs and Cs. Could be a scary defensive duo if JJJ can convert on a significant portion of the potential he's flashed.

[Whole Truth]

Memphis really nailed the Tillman pick. The Green comparisons are solid, a high IQ player, defender. Hit some timely shots in this one.

I'm really liking him so far. Looks like we may have finally found our long term backup big. I think he also will be really good with JJJ since both can guard PFs and Cs. Could be a scary defensive duo if JJJ can convert on a significant portion of the potential he's flashed.

He looked solid starting last night against a starter with a considerable size advantage .. but I think it will be more about who closes than who starts anyway. Starting Jonas would help wear down the opponent with his physical play, then Jenkins can close defensively with either Tillman or Clarke with 3J depending on if he's matching up at the 5 or 4.

My next comment/comparison, is to give Tillman some rookie hype & Memphis scouts some credit.

#2 pick Wiseman - 20.6 mins / 10.7pts on 9.2 FGA's / 6 rebs / .4 ast / .5 stls / 1.5 blks (106 DRTg) 12.4 per

2nd round pick Tillman - 20.8 mins / 8.6pts on 7.1 FGA's / 4 rebs / 1.6 ast / 1.3 stls / .5 blks (105 DRTg) 17.7 per

[VCfor3]

Memphis really nailed the Tillman pick. The Green comparisons are solid, a high IQ player, defender. Hit some timely shots in this one.

I'm really liking him so far. Looks like we may have finally found our long term backup big. I think he also will be really good with JJJ since both can guard PFs and Cs. Could be a scary defensive duo if JJJ can convert on a significant portion of the potential he's flashed.

He looked solid starting last night against a starter with a considerable size advantage .. but I think it will be more about who closes than who starts anyway. Starting Jonas would help wear down the opponent with his physical play, then Jenkins can close defensively with either Tillman or Clarke with 3J depending on if he's matching up at the 5 or 4.

My next comment/comparison, is to give Tillman some rookie hype & Memphis scouts some credit.

#2 pick Wiseman - 20.6 mins / 10.7pts on 9.2 FGA's / 6 rebs / .4 ast / .5 stls / 1.5 blks (106 DRTg) 12.4 per

2nd round pick Tillman - 20.8 mins / 8.6pts on 7.1 FGA's / 4 rebs / 1.6 ast / 1.3 stls / .5 blks (105 DRTg) 17.7 per

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

The point of that tweet was to show how good Tillman has been, but JV is on there too to back up your argument that his defense has been pretty good this year. Tillman has done better, but JV is still doing work.

[Whole Truth]

I'm really liking him so far. Looks like we may have finally found our long term backup big. I think he also will be really good with JJJ since both can guard PFs and Cs. Could be a scary defensive duo if JJJ can convert on a significant portion of the potential he's flashed.

He looked solid starting last night against a starter with a considerable size advantage .. but I think it will be more about who closes than who starts anyway. Starting Jonas would help wear down the opponent with his physical play, then Jenkins can close defensively with either Tillman or Clarke with 3J depending on if he's matching up at the 5 or 4.

My next comment/comparison, is to give Tillman some rookie hype & Memphis scouts some credit.

#2 pick Wiseman - 20.6 mins / 10.7pts on 9.2 FGA's / 6 rebs / .4 ast / .5 stls / 1.5 blks (106 DRTg) 12.4 per

2nd round pick Tillman - 20.8 mins / 8.6pts on 7.1 FGA's / 4 rebs / 1.6 ast / 1.3 stls / .5 blks (105 DRTg) 17.7 per

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

The point of that tweet was to show how good Tillman has been, but JV is on there too to back up your argument that his defense has been pretty good this year. Tillman has done better, but JV is still doing work.

Tillman being 2nd to only Turner is impressive. Memphis basically landed Turner for the 35th pick.

Where Jonas is concerned his offensive efficiency & rebounding impacts his defense where he has obvious, glaring issues in space. The subtleties of his impact that are not as easy to see, is how Raptors also managed a top 5 defense starting him as well & It's why, if you're looking for a stop you go with Tillman even if their numbers/impact were the same across the board.

Gasol is clearly a better defender than Jonas but watch the comparison of the 5man unit on that Raptors Championship squad.

playing with Lowry / Green / Kawhi / Pascal

- Gasol 160 mins (+22.9 pts / +4.3 FG / -1.3 FGA's /.057 FG% / -1.4 TRB / +1.7 STL)

-Jonas 140 mins (+22 pts / +6.7 FG / -7 FGA's / +.112 FG% / +2.6 TRB / +3.7 STL)

With Ibaka used for the small ball coverage. Where IMO 3J, if he can stay healthy will be a better version of that C rotation. If Clarke can play anywhere close to Pascal, this Memphis front court will be better/deeper with TIllman/Anderson/Porter/Tillie than the Championship Raptors front court. Only missing it's star 2 way wing. Which is why I was hoping for the draft though I know this roster has playoff potential.

I can't prove it but nobody can tell me Raptors couldn't have won with Jonas & that the slower footed Gasol wouldn't have got stretched by a Lebron/Love Cavs front court either, especially playing with Derozan instead of Kawhi..

[SD2042]

He looked solid starting last night against a starter with a considerable size advantage .. but I think it will be more about who closes than who starts anyway. Starting Jonas would help wear down the opponent with his physical play, then Jenkins can close defensively with either Tillman or Clarke with 3J depending on if he's matching up at the 5 or 4.

My next comment/comparison, is to give Tillman some rookie hype & Memphis scouts some credit.

#2 pick Wiseman - 20.6 mins / 10.7pts on 9.2 FGA's / 6 rebs / .4 ast / .5 stls / 1.5 blks (106 DRTg) 12.4 per

2nd round pick Tillman - 20.8 mins / 8.6pts on 7.1 FGA's / 4 rebs / 1.6 ast / 1.3 stls / .5 blks (105 DRTg) 17.7 per

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

The point of that tweet was to show how good Tillman has been, but JV is on there too to back up your argument that his defense has been pretty good this year. Tillman has done better, but JV is still doing work.

Tillman being 2nd to only Turner is impressive. Memphis basically landed Turner for the 35th pick.

Where Jonas is concerned his offensive efficiency & rebounding impacts his defense where he has obvious, glaring issues in space. The subtleties of his impact that are not as easy to see, is how Raptors also managed a top 5 defense starting him as well & It's why, if you're looking for a stop you go with Tillman even if their numbers/impact were the same across the board.

Gasol is clearly a better defender than Jonas but watch the comparison of the 5man unit on that Raptors Championship squad.

playing with Lowry / Green / Kawhi / Pascal

- Gasol 160 mins (+22.9 pts / +4.3 FG / -1.3 FGA's /.057 FG% / -1.4 TRB / +1.7 STL)

-Jonas 140 mins (+22 pts / +6.7 FG / -7 FGA's / +.112 FG% / +2.6 TRB / +3.7 STL)

With Ibaka used for the small ball coverage. Where IMO 3J, if he can stay healthy will be a better version of that C rotation. If Clarke can play anywhere close to Pascal, this Memphis front court will be better/deeper with TIllman/Anderson/Porter/Tillie than the Championship Raptors front court. Only missing it's star 2 way wing. Which is why I was hoping for the draft though I know this roster has playoff potential.

I can't prove it but nobody can tell me Raptors couldn't have won with Jonas & that the slower footed Gasol wouldn't have got stretched by a Lebron/Love Cavs front court either, especially playing with Derozan instead of Kawhi..

Tillman has been doing solid in his first season for the team. He's playing well into his role. For him to be in solid company with others playing in defense FGs' and in his rookie season says a lot. Plus the fact that JV is in the mix as well as plenty to JV and his fit with the Grizzlies. This team is a resilent bunch who will never stop fighting for wins. The future for this team is bright and will only get brighter from here.

[Whole Truth]

playing with Lowry / Green / Kawhi / Pascal

- Gasol 160 mins (+22.9 pts / +4.3 FG / -1.3 FGA's /.057 FG% / -1.4 TRB / +1.7 STL)

-Jonas 140 mins (+22 pts / +6.7 FG / -7 FGA's / +.112 FG% / +2.6 TRB / +3.7 STL)

With Ibaka used for the small ball coverage. Where IMO 3J, if he can stay healthy will be a better version of that C rotation.

Tillman has been doing solid in his first season for the team. He's playing well into his role. For him to be in solid company with others playing in defense FGs' and in his rookie season says a lot. Plus the fact that JV is in the mix as well as plenty to JV and his fit with the Grizzlies. This team is a resilent bunch who will never stop fighting for wins. The future for this team is bright and will only get brighter from here.

Tillman has been great & this Suns game was a strong showing for his first start but because of his physical limitations, like Clarke, Memphis had to double Ayton, who still had a strong game himself, where over a course of a season, matchups like this will wear & tear. A reminder, that Tillman is 6'9"& physically overmatched against some opponents. His early play & 1 start, has Grizz fans calling for a Jonas trade, some willing to deal him for a 2nd round pick, salary dump.

Despite how well Memphis scouts have done with their 2nd rounders, it's bothersome to see Jonas still undervalued by Memphis fans despite him being a good part of their early success. They're getting like some Raptors fans who can't see past his obvious flaws for what he does well & his overall impact.

The comparison I posted with Gasol above shows just how dominant Jonas has been & can be situationally. I have him sharing C mins with 3J & Tillman. I have him in the depth, versatility mix for Memphis moving forward even if at some point he becomes a bench option... He's simply gives the team a different dimension the other big men don't & he's dominant in that role.

Jonas / Tillman / 3J --- Porter
3J / Clarke / Anderson --- Tillie

Big rotation = Jonas at C with any of 3J, Tillman, Clarke, Anderson
Small rotation = 3J at C with any of Tillman, Clarke, Anderson

Compared to the Raptors Championship front court.

Jonas = Jonas/Gasol as post presence
3J > Ibaka as small ball, stretch PF/C
Clarke < Pascal as 3&D/transition, high energy/motor PF

Ja / Tyus projected > Lowry / FVV

I have Memphis set at C/PF & PG for the foreseeable future.. With Dieng who's expiring, Porter. Tillie as trade,/x factors.

This teams questions shake out on the wing/depth rotation, with a need to consolidate, land a 2 way scoring wing compliment tp Ja. Jalen Green who's my top target in this draft had me thinking a Mitchell comp, who I'd love to pair with Ja.

Maybe Memphis could consolidate Diengs expiring with some combination of the wing depth for a bad contract, solid FRP value in order to help/entice, consolidate their picks to move up in 21. Combined with the Utah FRP, GS FRP, potential future Memphis FRP.. for that final wing target, be it Green or not. If you're a team in the top 5 of this draft, would you trade out for 3-5 FRP's, including Memphis 21 pick in a trade down deal ?.

For Memphis that consolidation for their wing target in 21, is a final piece type acquisition for this current squad. It also cleans up the wing rotation & minutes requirement currently there. Simple.. rookie scale & control over the conventional route of trading for a max star. The wing players in this draft has the stars aligned for opportunity & I fully trust the Memphis scouts to not miss on that pick.