Portland Trail Blazers vs. Memphis Grizzlies: Postgame Grades and Analysis
For the second game in a row, Grit 'N' Grind reigned supreme, as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 97-82, on Wednesday at the FedEx Forum.
The Grizzlies were led offensively by Mike Conley, who scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and dished out six assists.
On the other end, Tony Allen led a defensive effort that forced the Blazers into scores of contested looks and a 39 percent shooting performance.
Portland was led by LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 24 points on 7-of-20 shooting, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol: B
Marc Gasol struggled from the field, often settling for mid-range jumpers, but he still managed to score 15 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
As is usually the case with Gasol, though, his performance was about much more than scoring.
He did a little bit of everything, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out five assists from the high post and spending time on both Robin Lopez and LaMarcus Aldridge on the defensive end.
Zach Randolph: C+
For the second game in a row, Zach Randolph struggled to shoot over the length of Aldridge. But he still managed to get a double-double, seemingly on will alone.
He finished with 10 points on 5-of-16 shooting to go with his 10 boards.
On the other end, Randolph did a good job of bodying up to Aldridge, forcing him out of the paint early in possessions and giving up jump shots rather than layups or post moves.
With Beno Udrih suffering a first-half ankle injury, Conley's minutes restriction from Game 1 appeared to be thrown out the window. And Grizzlies fans should be thoroughly pleased with how he looked in 29 minutes.
Conley was explosive out of the pick-and-roll when he needed to be and controlled and patient when he didn't. He was so effective that Portland assigned Nicolas Batum to him for long stretches of the game. Even Batum's length didn't seem to bother Conley.
The perpetually underrated (can we retire that for him yet?) Conley dominated Damian Lillard on the other end of the floor as well. He stayed in front of Lillard on every set, forcing him into plenty of bad jump shots.
Courtney Lee: A
Courtney Lee was three-and-D turned up to 11. Whether he was matched up with Lillard, Allen Crabbe or C.J. McCollum, Lee was able to frustrate his opponents to the point they were almost non-factors when he was on them.
He also took some gambles when appropriate, coming up with a game-high three steals.
On the other end, Lee knocked down open jumpers and took driving lanes as they opened up to him. He tied Conley for the team lead in points with 18, going 8-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from downtown.
Tony Allen: A
After coming off the bench in Game 1, Tony Allen started and delivered a dominant defensive performance on Wednesday.
At various times, he was tasked with defending everyone from Lillard to Batum, and he made things difficult for every Blazer he matched up with.
He finished with nine rebounds, four points and three blocks.
Rest of Team: B
Udrih's sprained ankle slowed him down a bit after his 20-point performance in Game 1, but he still managed to reach double figures off the bench with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Memphis got solid contributions from backup wings Jeff Green and Vince Carter as well.
Green struggled from the field, going 4-of-13, but he hit a critical jumper late and finished with nine points, five rebounds and three assists.
Carter, meanwhile, did a good job of spacing the floor for the second unit, scoring nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range.
Portland Trail Blazers
LaMarcus Aldridge: B
Aldridge looked fantastic in the first few minutes of the game, but hoisting up jumper after jumper isn't a great model for sustained success.
Gasol and Randolph both did a good job of not allowing Aldridge to get anywhere near the position he wanted inside, forcing him into 4-of-14 shooting outside the paint.
Damian Lillard: D-
Lillard has had a nightmarish start to this series. After going 5-of-21 in Game 1, Lillard came back to shoot 5-of-16 Wednesday. And what may be even worse than the shooting is the fact that he had one assist. One.
It doesn't matter if the traditional definition of a point guard is gone. That's just unacceptable from a starting 1—even if he scored 18 points.
On the other end, there was no player on which Portland could hide Lillard, a generally woeful on-ball defender. Lee and Conley were both locked in, perhaps in part because they knew who was guarding them.
Nicolas Batum: C+
Like Aldridge and Lillard, Batum had a rough scoring game. He shot 5-of-15 from the field on the way to 11 points. The biggest concern in terms of his shooting was that he just couldn't space the floor, going 1-of-6 from three-point range.
But with Batum, you can almost always guarantee he'll do plenty of positive things when his shot isn't falling. He still grabbed seven boards and dished a game-high seven assists.
Robin Lopez: C+
After registering almost no impact on Game 1, Robin Lopez played a solid game Wednesday, scoring 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, grabbing six boards and blocking two shots.
Defensively, Lopez did a good job of keeping Gasol out of the paint, forcing him into several contested mid-range shots.
Rest of Team: C-
The only other Blazer who registered much of a positive impact was Meyers Leonard, who actually took over the game for a stretch in the second half.
The sharpshooting big man was knocking down jumpers, finishing alley-oops and playing with a ton of energy on defense. He finished with 10 points and seven rebounds and shot 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range.
He was about the only reserve who played well, though. Joel Freeland and Steve Blake both played under 10 minutes and didn't take a single shot. McCollum went 3-of-13 on the way to six points.
Coming Up Next
The series will now shift to Portland for Game 3 on Saturday, April 25, at 10:30 p.m. ET.
The Blazers will have to find some way to break down Memphis' defense if they're going to claw back into this series. Continuing to settle for jump shots will simply lead to more of the same.
As for the Grizzlies, if they can just handle the first few haymakers from a Portland team that's bound to be energized by its home crowd, they should be fine.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
