Philadelphia 76ers May Have A Shot Against Memphis Grizzlies

The Philadelphia 76ers may have more of a shot against the Memphis Grizzlies than people are giving them credit for.

Memphis Grizzlies (15-14) @ Philadelphia 76ers (1-28), 7:00 PM, Wells Fargo Center

With a 1-28 record, it’s hard to convince anyone that you’ve got a chance in any given game. The Philadelphia 76ers have the worst record in the NBA by far, and have had “worst team of all time” thrown around about them. This is unsettling for sure, and the past few games seem to have been fought with hardly any effort, which is troubling because the hard fought losses were all fans had to hold onto through the first 20 games.

Now, in the last 10 games, the Sixers are only scoring just above 90 points per game, and turning the ball over 16.6 times per game. They’re letting up nearly 110 points per game and allowing teams to shoot near 50% in that time period. Oh, and should I mention they haven’t won a game in that period?

More from Sixers News

The Sixers host the Memphis Grizzles in the Center on Tuesday night, where they have been unable to win much and unable to draw fans in. They rank 28th in attendance at the Center so far this season, and it’s been no issue for fans to grab tickets less than $10 on third party ticket websites. This might be nice for fans that actually want to go, but it certainly hurts the atmosphere for the team. It’s tough to win when you don’t have fans cheering you on. More often than not, the fans in attendance have been booing the Sixers (Philly fans are so relentless) rather than cheering them on, or cheering on another player (Kobe Bryant when he played his last game in Philly) instead of the boys in red, white, and blue.

The Grizzlies have had a decent season so far, with a record of 15-14. That keeps them in the running for the playoffs in the Western Conference that’s been a bit less impressive than usual this season. In their last 15, the Grizzlies have gone 8-7, and already edged out a victory against Philadelphia within that span.

The Grizzlies losses have been noble. Looking at the list of teams they lost to (San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat) they aren’t games many would have expected them to win.

These two teams could be considered polar opposites in ways. The Sixers are the youngest team in the NBA, and the Grizzlies are the oldest. The Sixers have been good at blocking, and the Grizzlies have failed in that respect. Where the Grizzlies have succeeded (places like free throw percentage) Philly has failed. In one big location, though, they both fail, in their ability to score.

The Grizzlies have muscled out wins this season, but their scoring, much like the Sixers, has been absent. The Sixers are 30th in points scored per game, and the Grizzlies are 28th, so they’ve both obviously struggled by the league’s standards there, both scoring much less than 100 points per game. Both fail in offensive rating as well. The Grizzlies are better in every category, but both teams are bad.

For this reason, it seems like the Sixers might be better off than it first appears. Of course, looking at their records, and matching them up, the Grizzlies look better. But breaking it down, they’re both bad offensively, and the Sixers might just be able to keep up with the Grizzlies and their style of play.

Opponents to watch

Mario Chalmers is a shining new face for this team this year, and they have a lot of good players to keep track of. Zach Randolph nearly averages a double-double, and Marc Gasol scores 16.2 points per game. Mike Conley can score as well as pass. The Grizzlies don’t have a very deep bench, but then again, neither does Philadelphia.

Final take

Although it will be close, and should be another four quarter fight for Philly, they won’t be able to come away from this game with a win.

Where to catch the game

CSN has the broadcast
97.5 has the call
NBA League Pass is available for anyone out of market or anyone who needs to stream