On Friday afternoon, Derrick Rose and the Memphis Grizzlies dropped to an abysmal record of 3-12 on the young 2023-24 NBA season with a disappointing 110-89 home loss to the Phoenix Suns. Things fell apart in the second quarter for the Grizzlies in this one, as the team was outscored by 11 in the frame by the Suns, effectively allowing them to take control of the game.
After the game, Grizzlies veteran point guard Derrick Rose got one hundred percent honest about the Grizzlies' struggles on the afternoon.
“It's just communicating,” said Rose, per Bally Sports: Grizzlies. “I've been saying that the whole time. I don't know when it's going to actually resonate, but if we're not going to talk on the defensive end, there's no way in hell we're gonna win these games. That's just honestly speaking. Communication is huge in this league, especially on this level. Sometimes it's intimidating if you're hearing the opposing team calling out the exact play that you're running. It lets you know everybody has the same come and go while they're out there. Everybody's on the same page, and right now, we lack that.”
Another thing that the Grizzlies are lacking is the presence of their best player, point guard Ja Morant, who is currently more than halfway through a 25-game suspension imposed on him by the NBA to open up the season. The Grizzlies will hope to make up a little bit of ground in the standings over the next ten games in anticipation of Morant's arrival.