The Minnesota Timberwolves improved to 12-4 in the 2023-24 season with a crushing 119-97 win on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night. After the contest, Anthony Edwards claimed that the home crowd was “dead” during the game.
“The fans was dead,” Edwards said. “I’ve never played in Memphis like this. This is my first time being in Memphis and not having the crowd into the game. So it’s kind of hard to get into it.”
Edwards is used to facing a hostile environment whenever he plays at FedEx Forum, as was the case when he and the Timberwolves played the Grizzlies in the 2022 playoffs. The 22-year-old stated that the fans are usually amped up, but figures the atmosphere was dead because Ja Morant wasn’t playing.
Morant is still serving his 25-game suspension and to say the Grizzlies have struggled without their star guard would be an understatement. This loss to the Timberwolves dropped them to 3-13 on the season and they are 0-8 at home. When you consider how bad the team has been, it is somewhat understandable that the life has been sucked out of the crowd.
Morant’s return certainly could inject some life back into them, but the earliest he can play would be on December 23 against the Atlanta Hawks. There are still a few weeks left without him and I don’t foresee the Grizzlies winning too many games in that time.
Marcus Smart Went Off On His Teammates During The Game
Morant isn’t the only notable name missing for the Grizzlies at the moment, as they are also without Marcus Smart, Steven Adams, and Brandon Clarke. Smart was at the arena, though, and he was not happy with what he saw from his teammates on the court.
“Marcus Smart just gave the Grizzlies bench one of the most passionate speeches I’ve ever seen a player give his team. Said ‘This is f*cking embarrassing’ several times, talked about how fans are paying to come watch them and they’re not even trying.”
marcus smart just gave the grizzlies bench one of the most passionate speeches i’ve ever seen a player give his team. said “this is f*cking embarrassing” several times, talked about how fans are paying to come watch them and they’re not even trying pic.twitter.com/sxv4pL3jis
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) November 27, 2023
Those were some brutal comments from Smart and he probably felt he had to speak out in order to light a fire under them. Smart is not used to all this losing, with how successful the Boston Celtics were during his stint with them, but he’ll have to come to terms with the fact that this is going to be a lost season for the Grizzlies.
Even if Morant balls out on his return, they’ve dug themselves into too big of a hole, and with how good the Western Conference is this season, they’re not going to make it in.
The Minnesota Timberwolves Are Rolling
While 2023-24 will be a lost season for the Grizzlies, that’s not the case for the Timberwolves. They sit atop the standings in the West and have seriously impressed so far this season.
Edwards has stolen all the headlines, with averages of 26.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game, and he had a team-high 24 points to go with 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 block against the Grizzlies here. While he has been great, it is the defense that has really propelled the Timberwolves to the top.
They limited the Grizzlies to just 38.6% shooting from the field and have been a dominant defensive unit all season. Their defensive rating of 106.8 is tied with the Houston Rockets for the best in the NBA and the Rudy Gobert trade is no longer looking like a terrible move on their part.
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