Memphis Grizzlies: 5 keys to making the playoffs in 2017-18

3. Finding a shooting guard

We dove into this in some detail here, so we’ll keep this section fairly high level. The general takeaway is this: The Grizzlies’ presumed starting shooting guard, Ben McLemore, is out with injury until sometime next month (at the earliest), and his fitness to fill the role likely would have been in question even if he were healthy.

Memphis Grizzlies

McLemore hasn’t been a good NBA player at any point in his career, but Memphis is betting it can offer him the kind of stable environment he has yet to experience in his four years as a professional.

Should they struggle to draw out his potential, the Grizzlies are left with Wayne Selden, Tyreke Evans, Mario Chalmers (maybe), Dillon Brooks, Andrew Harrison and Wade Baldwin as potential options. It is unlikely that all of these players are still on the roster come regular season play, and none of them inspires much confidence.

There is plenty of youth in Memphis’ pool of shooting guard candidates, and in that sense there is some hope. They just need one of their many prospects to pop a little. They don’t need a star, though that would be welcome, but simply a player that can defend well, knock down open shots, not turn over the ball, and maybe occasionally create a little offense for himself.

That’s not a huge ask, but doing all of those things consistently isn’t easy either. If the Chandler Parsons reclamation project manages to rehabilitate his ability to play on the wing, then the Grizzlies can experiment with James Ennis at shooting guard, as he’s proven himself capable of being a valuable contributor.

Banking on Parsons’ health is a fool’s errand though, and really Memphis’ best chance at filling their hole at shooting guard lies in the development of any of their younger options. Regardless of where it comes from, having a second, competent wing will be of critical importance this year.