The Memphis Grizzlies are 14-7 at the de facto quarter marker of the 2024-2025 NBA season. Which surely beats the heck out of the alternative.
You remember the alternative, right dear reader? 6-15 through 21 games last season? The hopelessness? The nerves? The wild attempts at math to try to figure out what it will take to get in to the PLAY-IN???
Dark times. This is much better.
Jaren Jackson Jr. being a legitimate All-NBA contributor? That’s a much brighter spot to focus on. Ja Morant will likely retake the mantle once he’s able to play consistently (more on that in a moment), but one quarter of the way through the season? Jaren Jackson Jr. is the MVP of the Memphis Grizzlies. He’s dominating defensively. He’s scoring at will offensively.
He’s a walking, talking, mismatch - and he’s potentially fully realized.
Another plus? The fact that Memphis is so deep, a dude that scored 30 points and dished out 10 assists a few games ago is now the 11th man as the team gets healthier. How could anyone realistically argue that this isn’t the deepest team in the NBA? Scotty Pippen Jr. could be a starter on a couple (admittedly probably bad) basketball teams in the NBA the way he has played for much of the season so far.
And right now? He’s the 11th MAN. Luke Kennard - one of the best three point shooters of this century - played just 14 minutes against the Pacers Sunday. And three guys are still out due to injury (GG Jackson/Vince Williams Jr./Zach Edey) that before the season began were projected rotation members!
It’s a great problem to have. But it also serves as a reminder that numerous Grizzlies players have missed numerous games so far this season. Ja Morant and Desmond Bane highlight the long but distinguished list of players that includes the aforementioned trio still currently out, plus Kennard and Marcus Smart.
It’s hard to advocate for a consolidation trade when you’re not sure the roster will actually ever be fully healthy.
It’s also hard to argue for such a deal when a key cog in the Grizzlies machine is sputtering at the moment. Desmond Bane is currently suffering through one of the worst cold streaks of his career. His scoring is down - basically all his numbers across the board are - and he seems to be struggling adjusting to the new-look Grizzlies offense as other players find greater success.
The funny thing is, though, that as fun as Memphis being back among the regular season’s best is, the playoffs are way more fun. And getting Desmond Bane back to the level we’re accustomed to seeing must be a priority the next 21 games of this season. Perhaps tonight against a Dallas Mavericks team that spurned him in the 2020 NBA Draft will be a good place to start.
14-7 is great. But more is expected of this group - most importantly by themselves. The journey continues.
