New-look Grizzlies take on slumping Trail Blazers

The revamped Memphis Grizzlies begin play after the trade deadline with two games against the host Portland Trail Blazers, the first on Friday night.

The Grizzlies traded club stalwart Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz in an eight-player deal earlier this week that also netted Memphis three future first-round draft picks.

The players the Grizzlies received from the Jazz were guard Walter Clayton Jr., and forwards Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks and Georges Niang.

Also rating as a big deal was retaining point guard Ja Morant despite the wealth of rumors that Memphis was shopping the seventh-year point guard. The two-time All-Star is currently sidelined with a left elbow injury.

It hasn’t yet been divulged whether the new Grizzlies will be on the floor against Portland.

Memphis has won back-to-back games after enduring a six-game slide.

On Wednesday, Ty Jerome scored 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting as the Grizzlies recorded a 129-125 victory over the host Sacramento Kings.

Jerome is averaging 22.3 points and 7.0 assists in three games after missing the first three-plus months of the season due to a right calf injury.

The Grizzlies signed Jerome as a free agent in the offseason.

Cam Spencer added 20 points and Jaylen Wells had 18 in the team’s first game without Jackson, who began his NBA career with Memphis in 2018-19 after being the fourth overall pick of the draft.

Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo was concerned with shaky play in the interior. The Kings finished with a 58-42 edge in points in the paint.

“We didn’t do a good job protecting the rim,” Iisalo said. “We allowed them to score 38 points in the paint in the first half. In the second half, we did a better job.”

Portland has dropped six straight games but will have third-year point guard Scoot Henderson on the court for the first time this season. Henderson tore his left hamstring prior to the season.

Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter announced Henderson’s return after Thursday’s practice. The coach didn’t sound optimistic about All-Star forward Deni Avdija (lower back), who has missed seven of the last 11 games.

Henderson was slated to be the future face of the franchise after being picked third in the 2023 draft.

Henderson started 42 of 128 games played over his first two NBA seasons and had averages of 13.3 points, 5.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds.

He turned 22 on Tuesday and said earlier this week that he was itching to get back on the floor.

“I’m the player that kind of just can be thrown in any type of fire and understand the role and understand what I bring to the table and have confidence in that role,” Henderson said. “So I feel like my teammates believe in me and coming back, and that’s all I can ask for, for real.”

Portland is coming off a 130-125 home loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Jerami Grant scored 23 points and Shaedon Sharpe added 19.

The Trail Blazers had crept above .500 at one game over before the current skid.

“I think we’re definitely going through a rough patch right now,” forward Toumani Camara. “But I think our energy was picking back up. I think we showed a lot of great things, a lot of good effort. Our heart was there.”

Vit Krejci had five points in 14 minutes in his Portland debut Tuesday. The guard was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

Memphis posted a 119-96 home win over Portland on Dec. 7. Seven Grizzlies scored in double digits, led by Santi Aldama with 22 points. Grant scored 21 for the Trail Blazers.

–Field Level Media