Memphis Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo has endured a first half of the season in which his team has battled injuries at every position, from star guard Ja Morant to second-year big man Zach Edey.
The Grizzlies have battled through the shortcomings to play close to .500 through 32 games. But minus Edey with a stress reaction, his backup Jock Landale with calf soreness and key reserve forward Brandon Clarke (calf), Iisalo is finding life difficult in the paint for his team.
Iisalo is hoping Landale, who is listed as questionable, can return when the Grizzlies play host to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
In Sunday’s loss at Washington, the Grizzlies led by 10 late in the third quarter, but were unable to hold on because of their inability to control the boards. The Wizards outrebounded the Grizzlies 54-43. Memphis also yielded 23 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.
“I thought we played good defense but couldn’t keep Washington off the offensive boards, and in the end, that was the biggest difference in the game,” Iisalo said. “Neither team could really find the rhythm from the outside, and that will happen sometimes. You have to generate more shots, and Washington was able to do that.”
The Grizzlies could not maintain their lead as the Wizards posted a 19-3 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters. Memphis trailed 97-91 at that point and eventually trimmed the margin to 108-107 with 2:52 left. Morant’s 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left cut the Wizards’ lead to 114-112, but Khris Middleton sealed the win with two free throws with 4.7 seconds to go.
The Grizzlies were attempting to reach the .500 mark for the first time since Oct. 31.
Philadelphia has dealt with its own injury issues and is mired in a three-game losing streak. Joel Embiid, listed as questionable for Tuesday, did not play in Sunday’s 129-104 loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder because of a right ankle sprain. He had scored 31 points in 32 minutes in the team’s previous game, a 109-102 road setback to the Chicago Bulls on Friday.
The 76ers had their opportunities early against the Thunder, but were undone by a second half in which they were outscored 65-42.
Turnovers played a key part in the collapse.
“The big amount of turnovers put us in trouble,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “We had way too many.
“We told the guys the No. 1 key to the game was they are going to guard and they are going to pressure and they are going to deny. But a good 10 of those (turnovers) were our fault. We didn’t make a strong enough read or the right play and that’s where it starts. And we didn’t get enough defense established in the second half.”
Nurse thought the 76ers played well enough to win in Chicago on Friday, but needed to play better down the stretch. Against the Thunder, the second-half letdown was insurmountable.
“We’ve just got to bounce back from this one,” Nurse said. “There were good things being done, we just didn’t get it done in the second half.
“First of all, we’ve got to get a few of the guys back in rhythm and get them going. We need some guys to be more solid. That’s it and play for 48 (minutes) and we’ll be fine.”
