Grizzlies made NBA history last night

Trying to find positives in another grizzlies lost can be hard. But last night, the grizzlies made NBA history when Hamed Haddadi was inserted into the game. He became the first Iranian born player to play in the NBA. He played 4 minutes and contributed with an offensive rebound and earned 2 free throws which he made both of them. He also hustled back on defense to attempt to block a shot on the suns fast break but was called for a foul. I was glad to see that his first action wasn't during trash time.

Last nights loss was very frustrating to watch. I understand that the players may have been tired due to this being the 4'th game in 5 nights and traveling across country for 2 road games. Also, they had to play 3 overtime periods in those games. But to come home and play the suns who are without Steve Nash and then without Amare Stoudamire for over half of the game and to lose it again in the last 6 minutes is unacceptable. This team needs to learn how to close out games. And that goes for the coaching staff as well. I disagree with 2 coaching moves late in the game.

1. Kyle Lowry was taken out and Mike Conley put back into the game. Conley went 0-5 in the game with 2 points and no assists in nearly 20 minutes of playing time. Why would you replace the starting point guard at the end of the game with a player who isn't getting it done. Lowry had 6 points, 6 assists and 2 steals last night. I realize that isn't great numbers but it sure beats Conley's numbers. When the team only scored 11 points in the 4'th quarter, you can look at a PG who wasn't successful in running the offense.

2. Again, we only scored 11 points in the 4'th quarter. So why with 3+ minutes to go in the game do you take out your leading scorer. Hakim Warrick had 25 points on 7-11 shooting. That is very effective shooting, because he averaged 2.27 points per shot attempt because he kept getting to the free throw line. We couldn't score in the 4'th quarter so the leading scorer sits coming down the stretch?

We have several pieces of the puzzle, but we must learn how to put them together.