Memphis Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane Makes Statement in Play-In Tournament
The Memphis Grizzlies’ hopes of clinching the seventh seed in the Western Conference were dashed after their loss to the Golden State Warriors in the Play-in Tournament on April 15th. The Grizzlies’ streak of losing to teams with a .500 and above record in the Western Conference extended to 10 games, with the latest defeat coming at the hands of the Warriors. According to Beale Street Bears, the back-and-forth affair ended after a five-second inbounds violation on the Grizzlies with five seconds remaining, trailing by three points.
The loss sent the Grizzlies to a do-or-die game against the winner of the Dallas Mavericks-Sacramento Kings play-in game in Memphis on April 18th. While the loss to the Warriors was deflating for a team that had preferred to clinch the seventh seed, a positive takeaway came from their tightly contested battle. As noted by Beale Street Bears, Desmond Bane made a statement with his impressive performance, scoring 30 points to keep the Grizzlies within striking distance.
Bane has been a cornerstone piece for the Grizzlies, and his performance against the Warriors was a testament to his skills as a player. To those outside of Memphis, Bane has always flown under the radar despite being productive, efficient, and well-rounded as a player throughout his career. However, the Grizzlies organization has promoted their core as a big three, with Bane being included with their All-Star duo of Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., as reported by Beale Street Bears.
This checks out as Bane has consistently been one of the Grizzlies’ best scorers, including some big moments on the game’s biggest stages. In their battle against the Warriors, Morant left the game in the third quarter with an ankle sprain before returning in the fourth quarter in limited fashion. Jackson Jr. struggled against the physicality of the Warriors, which limited his game to becoming a three-point specialist. While he shot 4-9 from three, Jackson Jr. finished the game with 18 points and combined with Morant to score 40 points, as per Beale Street Bears.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson from the Warriors combined to score 55 points, however it was Curry and Jordan Poole who combined to score 55, not Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler as stated ; with the Grizzlies needing another player to try to match their production. Desmond Bane came very close, after scoring 30 points to keep the Grizzlies within striking distance. Bane has been a model of consistency when it comes to shooting the three ball and had a 5-8 effort from three-point distance against the Warriors. The three attempts he missed rattled in and out, preventing him from a perfect night, according to Beale Street Bears.
At only 26 years old, Bane has proven time and again that he is a primetime performer throughout his five-year career, and is more than enough as the third option of a big three trio. As Beale Street Bears noted, Bane was almost certainly going to be the player with the ball in his hands to take the game-tying three before the five-second violation. His all-around skills and ability to perform under pressure make him an invaluable asset to the Grizzlies, and his performance against the Warriors was a statement of his capabilities as a player.
The Memphis Grizzlies will look to bounce back from their loss to the Warriors and secure a win against the winner of the Dallas Mavericks-Sacramento Kings play-in game. With Desmond Bane as a cornerstone piece, they will look to build on his impressive performance and make a deeper run in the playoffs. As reported by Beale Street Bears, Bane’s performance against the Warriors was a testament to his skills as a player, and he will look to continue to make a statement in the playoffs.
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