Memphis Grizzlies: Biggest strengths and weaknesses for 2017-18
By Greg Cassoli
Weakness No. 1: Vulnerability to injury
Injuries were a problem for the Grizzlies last year, and the threat they pose hasn’t decreased much since that time. What’s truly troubling is that this isn’t so much an issue of Memphis not having the depth to deal with nagging ailments, but a reality in which all three of the team’s theoretical best players are at particularly high risk of missing time.
Gasol, who managed a respectable 74 games last year, turns 33 in January. Expecting much more out of him in the upcoming campaign would be unwise, and the Grizzlies might even need to think about cutting his minutes as a means of preserving his body.
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His primary running mate, Conley, is slightly younger, but hasn’t topped the 70-game mark in any of the past three seasons. He’s incredibly tough, and seems to return from fairly extreme injuries faster than should be humanly possible, but that doesn’t erase the fact that he tends to encounter those injuries at an above-average rate.
All this says nothing of Chandler Parsons, the versatile wing that the Grizzlies signed to a max contract last offseason. Parsons has torn the meniscus in his respective knees in consecutive years, and played in only 34 games in 2016-17, the first year of his four-year deal with Memphis. Just staying on the court for a full season would be a major step forward for Parsons. Expecting him to contribute in a meaningful way is probably unrealistic.
If one of the Gasol, Conley, Parsons triumvirate misses extended time, the Grizzlies can likely weather the storm (particularly if it’s Parsons). If two are out, things could get ugly, and if all three miss major games simultaneously, Memphis can kiss any hope of snagging a playoff spot goodbye.