The Memphis Grizzlies are struggling.
They have dropped five of their past six games and have not had star guard Ja Morant in the lineup for the past 13 games because of an elbow injury. Promising rookie Cedric Coward hasn’t played since the All-Star break because of a knee injury. And the team traded former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz shortly before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, further depleting an injury-riddled roster.
But as bad as it’s been for the Grizzlies, the Sacramento Kings have endured a much worse stretch.
When the Kings visit Memphis on Monday night, they’ll be on a franchise-record losing streak of 16 games. The Kings extended their misery by dropping a 139-122 decision Saturday to the San Antonio Spurs. Sacramento has not won since Jan. 16 against the Washington Wizards.
The Kings are on pace to finish with their worst record in franchise history. Sacramento, at 12-46, owns the worst record in the NBA and is flirting with the franchise low mark: a 17-65 finish during the 2008-09 season.
“I’ve been here for the best and been here for the worst, so I know what both of them look like, and our fans deserve more, and we’ll get there,” said coach Doug Christie, a former Kings player and broadcaster. “It’s about as painful as it gets.”
Getting there may require some additional time. The Kings announced last week that Zach LaVine (hand), Domantas Sabonis (knee) and De’Andre Hunter (eye) would not return this season. Each has undergone season-ending surgeries.
Following Saturday’s loss, Christie was impressed with the team’s 33 assists, but thought the effort could have been better.
“We brought the fight after being down 11-0,” Christie said. “(But) we have to make sure the physicality continues. Thirty-six minutes in this league is not enough. It has to be the whole 48 minutes to get a win in this league.”
Christie thought the matchup against the Spurs revealed some encouraging things about his team as it attempts to end its skid.
“For us, this is about as high-level a team as you are going to face in the NBA. So getting down early and not panicking and then continuing to fight back (was encouraging). It wasn’t just about making shots, it was about the defensive end and making stops to getting out and running, getting some turnovers and picking up the physicality. All those little things are our identity. But the identity has to carry itself throughout the whole game.”
An undermanned – and severely undersized — Memphis team lost Saturday to the Miami Heat, 136-120. The Grizzlies, playing without a true center, were outrebounded, 57-35.
Memphis found itself without a big man because 7-foot-4 Zach Edey has been sidelined most of the season with an ankle issue, the 6-11 Jackson was recently dealt and 7-footer Lawson Lovering had his 10-day contract end ahead of Saturday’s game. Lovering played 32 minutes and produced a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) in Friday’s victory over the Utah Jazz.
“(Miami) had 17 offensive rebounds because we played with a very small lineup,” Memphis coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “That hurt us. Overall, I thought our guys competed well.”
The Grizzlies got a third straight 20-point effort from GG Jackson, who posted a season-high 28 points, and a season-high tying 25 points from Jaylen Wells in the Miami loss.
