Memphis Grizzlies: 3 takeaways from 2017-18 season opener

Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /

1. Jamychal Green gets hurt

Jamychal Green lasted just four minutes before being forced from the court with an ankle injury. According to The Vertical’s Shams Charania, the MRI on his left ankle came back negative, but he will be sidelined for several weeks.

This is good news overall, but the outcome will have significant implications for the Grizzlies’ rotation.

Memphis has a number of bigs on its roster, and should be able to weather the missed time from Green fairly effectively, but they need him to compete at the highest level. Green is a hardworking, switchable defender, with developing range out to the 3-point line. He breathes a lot of spacing into Memphis’ offense, and gives opponents headaches with his hustle on the opposite end of the court.

Jarrell Martin can likely function as a reasonable facsimile in his stead, but if Green misses significant time, the Grizzlies’ downside and injury risk, which was already considerable, only increases. Green entered the year as one of the few players that wasn’t a major health concern.

The way Green tweaked his ankle didn’t look awful in real-time, but was bad enough to keep him from returning to the game and will keep him out for a few weeks.

Next: 2017-18 Week 1 NBA Power Rankings

This is the least concrete of our takeaways, but it holds, by far, the most long-term implications. Green’s health is worth monitoring.