Memphis Grizzlies: The Impact Of Marc Gasol’s Season-Ending Injury
Making The Playoffs
Despite the absence of Gasol for the rest of the season, the Grizzlies have no incentive to pack it in and tank, since doing so would likely doom themselves to a lost first round pick. But Memphis may also have a hard time holding on to their current playoff standing without their go-to center, who was averaging a team-leading 16.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
The Grizz may currently sit in fifth in the standings, but what does their team look like sans Big Spain?
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For starters, the Courtney Lee and Jeff Green trades are killers with the goal of making the postseason in mind. Trading two expiring contracts and getting one future first round pick and four second round picks is quite a haul, but even if Memphis was wise to cash in on their value now, Lee and Green were the team’s two best wing players and two starters to boot.
In the two games since the trade deadline, Joerger went with a starting lineup of Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Matt Barnes, JaMychal Green and Zach Randolph for the first game, then substituted P.J. Hairston into the starting group for Allen. The team went 1-1 in that span, but riding Conley, Z-Bo and a poor imitation of the NBA Suicide Squad can only take this team so far.
With Hairston, Lance Stephenson and Chris Andersen all being new arrivals, not to mention expanded roles for Jordan Adams and Brandan Wright coming, the Grizzlies are basically dealing with half a new team right when they should be rounding into playoff form. That limits the amount of offensive sets Conley can run, even with a patsy schedule coming up (Lakers twice, Suns twice, Nuggets, Kings and Jazz over the next seven games).
After that cupcake schedule, however, the Grizzlies play 12 of their last 20 games on the road, with road opponents that include the Cavaliers, Celtics, Hawks, Rockets, Spurs, Mavericks, Clippers and Warriors. A three-game lead over Dallas and Portland (plus a 4.5-game lead over Utah) gives Memphis some breathing room, but it doesn’t guarantee anything with Gasol done for the year.
Next: The Future