The Memphis Grizzlies got a juggernaut Ja Morant in the opener versus the Utah Jazz. They held a seven-point lead midway through the third quarter against the hosting Houston Rockets in the second straight road game. Then everything seemingly fell apart in what wound up a 128-108 blowout less than 24 hours before the home opener. Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins went for the jugular when describing what happened over the last 20 minutes of game time.

“They basically punked us,” Jenkins said. “We have got to respond.”

Public scoldings do not come much harsher in professional sports. Some terms and phrases are reserved for sending messages. However, Jenkins had some constructive criticism as well. The locker room was surely listening to the multitude of improvement areas Jenkins gave the media to jot down during the postgame press conference. The Grizzlies just could not shake the Rockets early.

“Could not get a rebound,” Jenkins noted. “We could not get out and play with pace.”

Grizzlies got run out of town by Rockets

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts after a play during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
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The stats seem in line with a competitive game but that was far from the case. Morant went 8-0f-17 from the field to notch 24 points. Desmond Bane (17), Scottie Pippen Jr. (13), and Zach Edey also scored into the double figures. The Grizzlies got the points in expected half-court situations but had issues converting on many mistakes by the Rockets.

Houston produced 29 points after forcing 19 turnovers. Memphis created a mere 13 points while also forcing 19 turnovers. Digging deeper into what went wrong in the third quarter requires no major film study. It was more of the same but now the Rockets were making shots after earning extra possessions. Houston's hot hands led to a 17-0 run and the Grizzlies never got within one possession of the lead again.

“We could not get a stop,” replied Jenkins. “They were shooting under 40% and then we could not get a rebound. Then they applied (full-court) pressure on us and we could not get our offense going. I mean we had some decent shots but probably a few too many floaters. We missed some open threes and then the turnovers. Their physicality changed but our inability to rebound affected our ability to get out and run.”

Morant, who played only 24 minutes in the loss, admitted the second-half substitution was his decision. Jenkins attributed the ramp-up to the All-Star not doing as much during preseason camp. Still, flaws were exposed. Rookie Grizzlies rookie Zach Edey has not looked special at all, for example. Either way, the Grizzlies have little time to get right before a highly anticipated home opener in the FedEx Forum.

“Our fans have been waiting a long time to see these Grizzlies in action,” Jenkins said. “It's going to be electric. There is no better place to play basketball than the FedEx Forum when the arena is rocking. Hopefully, like I said, we will respond. I expect nothing less than the crowd to be rocking tomorrow night.”