Marcus Smart put the Memphis Grizzlies on blast during a timeout in Sunday's home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Smart, who is still sidelined by a lower-body injury, did not let his unavailability status keep him from lighting up his teammates in the contest, as he ripped them for an apparent lackadaisical effort on the floor (h/t Molly Morrison of Bleacher Report).
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
Smart pleaded for the Grizzlies to show some fight amid t the blowout, and if there's one player on Memphis' roster who can talk about giving it all on the floor, it's the former Defensive Player of the Year.
The Grizzlies were outscored by Minnesota in each of the first three periods. The Timberwolves also took advantage of Memphis' seemingly leaky defense, as they shot 53.1 percent from the field and went 15-for-34 from behind the arc. Moreover, the Timberwolves were plus-12 in points in the paint.
That is not the kind of effort Smart or any Grizzlies fan would love to see from a team that entered Sunday's game with just three wins against 12 losses. Ja Morant is still several games away from being eligible to come back from suspension and Smart is weeks away from returning from injury, so the Grizzlies have to quickly find a way to cure their malaise before it is too late.