Memphis Grizzlies: The Impact Of Marc Gasol’s Season-Ending Injury

With Marc Gasol out for the rest of the 2015-16 NBA season with a foot injury, where do the Memphis Grizzlies go from here?

It’s no secret that the Memphis Grizzlies have not been the same since their impressive start to the 2014-15 NBA season. After battling with the Golden State Warriors for the top seed in the West for the first half of the year, the Grizz lost their way after an ill-fated Gerald Green trade, sank to fifth in the standings and wound up being knocked out by the Dubs in six games in the conference semifinals.

Even after re-signing Marc Gasol to a gaudy five-year, $110 million contract over the summer, Memphis had little to feel confident about early in the 2015-16 campaign. The team got off to a 3-6 start, Big Spain looked slower and less motivated than ever, and the once praised “grit-n-grind” mindset had deteriorated into grimy play and grinding teeth.

The Mario Chalmers trade bought new life to Beale Street, as did Dave Joerger’s tinkering with the lineup in demoting Zach Randolph and Tony Allen to the bench, only to bring them back into the starting rotation a few weeks later. But not long after, the Grizzlies’ worst fears about Gasol’s foot injury were confirmed, when it was officially announced the team’s defensive anchor would be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his broken right foot.

According to the team, Gasol suffered a “non-displaced Type II fracture of the navicular bone in his right foot” and is expected to make a full recovery. The question is, with Memphis’ best two-way player done for the year, what does the Grizzlies’ future look like for the 2015-16 season and beyond?

Next: Big Spain's Road To Recovery