It's been a roller coaster last few days for the Memphis Grizzlies. They are one of the hottest teams in the league at the moment, having gone 7-3 in the last 10 games and now rank second in the Western Conference. Nevertheless, they recently lost rotation players Santi Aldama and Marcus Smart for at least the next two weeks, and they are waiting to get star Ja Morant back after he injured his shoulder.
That is a big blow to them with the Grizzlies having struggled with injuries early on this season. Worse still, after it initially appeared that they were going to get reinforcements via trade, a deal fell apart at the last minute.
The Grizzlies had been active in trade talks and appeared close to acquiring Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith. It may have cost them Luke Kennard and a protected first-round pick, but they would be getting a legit three-and-D player who can knock down open threes and more than hold his own on the defensive end.
Unfortunately for them, the Los Angeles Lakers swooped in and landed him for D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and 3 second-round picks. That stings, especially since they may not find an affordable three-and-D wing on the trade market, and they lost them to a rival.
The Memphis Grizzlies' bad luck has kept them from reaching their full potential thus far this season.
Although the Grizzlies are battling injury issues with Morant, Aldama, and Smart. It isn't all bad. Rookie Zach Edey recently came back from injury and has posted solid numbers since returning, averaging a double-double—11.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks over the last six games that he has played.
Even so, he is nearly already out of Rookie of the Year contention, considering that he has missed 12 out of a maximum of 17 games to be considered for the award. That said, having him find a rhythm will help them, and once they deal with their injury issues, they will be better for it once fully healthy. All things considered, they are right where they need to be.
Not including last season, where they failed to make the playoffs after terrible injury luck, they have finished second in the West twice. With the Oklahoma City Thunder five games up on the Grizzlies, they probably won't catch them, but if they can get healthy at the right time and hopefully find another option in the trade market, they could turn their luck around.