The Memphis Grizzlies won a basketball game on Wednesday night against the upstart San Antonio Spurs. Victor Wembanyama and company are ahead of schedule, but Memphis has had the Spurs number of late and rode a hot 4th quarter to a win. 10 straight victories now for the Grizzlies in San Antonio...as a long-time follower of this franchise that is a wild sentence to type out.
Who carried Memphis in the contest? The “big three” of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. all had varying levels of success, as you would expect. But another season-long trend continued as well.
The Grizzlies bench - the highest scoring group of reserves in the entire NBA - picked up Memphis when the team needed them most. Luke Kennard was red-hot from three. Santi Aldama continued his dark horse Sixth Man of the Year campaign. Jay Huff hit numerous big shots.
Three starters - the previously mentioned Morant, Bane , and Jackson Jr. scored in double figures. And those three reserves also scored in double figures off the bench.
A great situation, right? Especially for a team that has had the injury issues that Memphis has endured the last couple years?
Yes...for now, it’s a wonderful gift. But it could become a curse as the weather warms in the months ahead.
Along with the Grizzlies being so deep - and that depth being reinforced soon by the returns of GG Jackson and Vince Williams Jr. - comes minute distribution questions. They can manifest in many ways. For example - the Grizzlies best players play fewer minutes than most other stars in the NBA.
Staying fresh is a great thing. But your best players need to play to actually maximize their advantage they have over most NBA players.
Top-tier analysis, right? Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr...they should play a lot! But who loses run as their minutes increase in the weeks ahead?
And some will see their roles cut out entirely. Kennard is a great example of that - earlier this season he had fallen from the rotation completely. One of the best three-point shooters of the last decade was getting no minutes...and you could make a logical argument for why!
If Luke isn’t making threes, he loses a lot of his value. But then a funny thing happened - when Marcus Smart went out and Kennard got his chance, he flashed not just elite spacing but shot creation as well. Over his last six games Kennard is averaging over four assists a game in addition to multiple threes made per contest.
That holds real value. But what happens when Jackson, and Williams Jr., and Smart return? Kennard almost certainly is not in the long-term plans for Memphis beyond this season. Do trade rumors resume? We know the Dorian Finney-Smith conversations were legit...do other opportunities centered around Luke’s expiring deal emerge?
The more Grizzlies return, the more questions arise. The more answers to potential rotation concerns, the more uncertainty about how the team will treat the NBA Trade Deadline rises.
Buckle up, Memphis. The next few weeks will be fun.
