After opening their five-game road trip with three straight losses, the Memphis Grizzlies received needed rest ahead of their matchup against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday in Salt Lake City.
Memphis (43-28) is set to play for the first time since losing 128-108 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. The Grizzlies’ defense struggled again, allowing the Clippers to score 68 points in the second half.
“Obviously we’re in a slide right now and we’ve got to dig out of it,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “We know what the standings are, but we can’t be thinking about that. We’ve got to recapture our best version that we’ve displayed throughout the season.”
The Grizzlies entered Monday holding the fifth seed in the tight Western Conference playoff race with 11 games to play, while Utah (16-56) sat at the bottom of the West after losing 12 of its last 13 games.
While Memphis star point guard Ja Morant will miss his fifth straight game with a left hamstring injury, the team will be without forward Brandon Clarke for the rest of the season. Clarke suffered a high-grade PCL sprain in his right knee in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers last Wednesday.
With Morant and Clarke sidelined, Memphis has asked center Jaren Jackson Jr. to assume a larger role on both ends of the floor. Jackson is shooting 35.8 percent from the field over his last three games, well below his season average (49.3 percent).
“He’s obviously had a couple of tough ones on the road trip so far,” Jenkins said. “I think teams are definitely loading up on him… I don’t doubt he’s going to get back (to form) sooner than later because of the work he’s putting in.”
Memphis has won the first three matchups with Utah this season, including a 122-115 home victory on March 12.
The rebuilding Jazz are looking to bounce back after losing 120-91 to the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. Utah committed 18 turnovers and was outscored 60-30 in the paint.
Point guard Collin Sexton is averaging 18.1 points while emerging as a veteran voice for the Jazz, who have three rookies in their rotation.
“It’s giving energy, at the end of the day,” Sexton said. “I know for me, that’s something I can give each and every night. The ball might not be going into the basket, but the energy I can always give, and it can bring somebody else along.”
One bright spot in the loss to Cleveland was the play of rookie forward Kyle Filipowski, who had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Filipowski is averaging 15.1 points and 7.5 rebounds in 13 games this month.
Jazz coach Will Hardy has also been pleased by the development of third-year center Walker Kessler, who has been encouraged to shoot more 3-pointers this month. Kessler made one of his season-high eight 3-point attempts in Sunday’s loss.
“Coach is a big proponent of players trying to get better and expand their games,” Kessler said. “He’s kind of given me the go ahead to try and work on it, and I’m very, very appreciative of him to give me the opportunity.”
