Post-Mortem: 2021-22 Memphis Grizzlies

[Phish Tank]

I mostly clowned the Grizz because of Ja's Twitter presence, but truth be told there isn't much to change with this squad. This is an up-and-coming squad who'll remain playoff contenders as long as the key pieces remain healthy.

1) Ja's ultimately getting the most money he can get this summer. Defense is a concern, but he should work on a few things:

a) Lower body strength -> this will help when he attacks the paint
b) Better biomechanics when landing -> still way too many awkward landings
c) Midrange & three point shot -> He'll need the former in the playoffs and the latter to keep his legs fresh throughout the regular season.

Ja needs to preserve the legs more importantly than ever now. Some of those acrobatic dunks and layups need to be curtailed for his long-term outlook.

2) Don't feel pressured to bring Tyus & Slow Mo back. I think you can find cheaper alternatives to both. I'd look for a vet at either of those positions or at least someone with a perimeter game. You can tell some of the late-game execution in the playoff series was due to lack of experience. Now I just said shooting would help - but Rondo's not a bad alternative. He's shooting better now, but he can spell Ja some minutes and the team won't crumble. Maybe Rubio comes cheap? Patty Mills - if he opts out? DJ Augustin will be on an NBA team too. Schroder too, I guess.

Plenty of cheaper options to replace Slo Mo too - anyone from Gary Harris, Prince, etc. They can make use of the MLE here and I believe they'll still be under the cap.

3) Based on the results of FA, work on a roster consolidation. There are ton of talented players on the team. But there's room for consolidation. I'm leaning towards keeping Brooks, but don't be married to him. Melton too. Use them to consolidate/fill other needs.

Also, use the two first round picks to move up and draft any impact player at the 2 or 5.

[dc]

Boss move would be to trade Morant for maximum value. He does trick moves but is a complete sieve on defense.

It's true that the Grizz are basically a totally different team (in good and bad ways) when Ja is sideline vs. when he's playing.

But ultimately they need him. He can get his shot off in crunchtime, and you need that in the playoffs. His overall efficiency didn't look great in the playoffs, but he took over in the clutch in a number of games. In the long run, I think they can still improve on the defensive side of things with him on the floor. They have time.

[DanEu]

Keeping Tyus is gonna be difficult. He’s gonna get paid

Dude is a backup PG, MLE at best.

None serious team is giving him starter money.

Mavs might throw a bigger contract at him if they fail to keep Brunson.

[Big J]

They need to consolidate their role players for another star.

[MindState]

Warriors won a playoff series against the #2 seed with their best 3 shooters, shooting like 29% from 3 for the series. Thats worse then “Westbrick”.

[hamncheese]

2nd best record while being the 2nd youngest team in the league. Definitely a rising team even if their record isn't the same or they don't make the WCF next year. West should be tough with hopefully healthy Nuggets and Clippers. Warriors can should maintain competitiveness with development of their young players. The trajectory looks good for Memphis with player growth. JJJ is a key player that needs to get consistent. Getting Ja to play adequate defense is also key. Definitely the best among the young teams.

[RB34]

Very impressive season from the Grizz, they have some nice young players. Although I dislike how they carry themselves, well done.

Onward and Upward.

[srhcan]

they should have won the series against Warriors; but the coach made boneheaded decisions which eventually cost the team a trip to West finals; i think to take the next step and be a real contender they need to fire the coach

[srhcan]

Boss move would be to trade Morant for maximum value. He does trick moves but is a complete sieve on defense.

Morant for Fred + OG

Starting lineup:
Fred
Bane
OG
JJJ
Adams

Jones, Brooks, Anderson, Clarke, etc. off the bench

Looks like real contender now

[MemphisX]

Keeping Tyus is gonna be difficult. He’s gonna get paid

Dude is a backup PG, MLE at best.

None serious team is giving him starter money.

Mavs might throw a bigger contract at him if they fail to keep Brunson.

How would they do that?

[GregOden]

Warriors won a playoff series against the #2 seed with their best 3 shooters, shooting like 29% from 3 for the series. Thats worse then “Westbrick”.

They also turned it over like Westbrook, but they rebounded at an elite level as a team. Unlike the Lakers who were one of the worst rebounding teams in the league despite Westbrook and Lebron putting up triple doubles on a all "me-too" team.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

Why do the other Grizzlies play better without JA?
I am not blaming JA. The other Grizzlies need to play as well with JA as they play without JA.

Grizzlies need to work on the stand around and watch JA problem. The Grizzlies need to keep that team together because they fit well together and are a serious threat to win the championship next year. Continuity is better than change for teams.

They are young and probably have cap room to sign a free agent. I have not checked my young = cap room theory. But if they did sign a free agent, what do they need? The team is pretty complete.

[ElectricMayhem]

Just a random aside, I love this "The Memphis Grizzlies are better without Ja" debate. It is understandably polarizing. I'm on one side of it (I believe they ARE better without Ja but they could even be better than they currently are if Ja changes his game some). It strikes at a lot about individual success vs. team success and what it means to strive for one or the other. I fully believe Ja is a team player with an individual success-driven game. It's such a complex dynamic and I look forward to see how it plays out in the future. I honestly hope they figure it out and get at least one championship.

[hugepatsfan]

Take Ja off that team and they're the Isiah Thomas Celtics. Would never win anything but a fun, scrappy bunch.

With Ja, they're the Jayson Tatum Celtics. There have been some rough patches and at times it's been worse. But at the end of the day you need star power and that can cause some set backs as guys adjust to roles, find their place in the team hierarchy and you move pieces around for the right fits to compliment your star. The Jayson Tatum Celtics have a chance to win a ring.

MEM moving Ja is silly talk.

[cupcakesnake]

Grizzlies have been a top 3 team for me the past 3 seasons. Even before they were really good, Jenkins was clearly doing interesting things. He carved out big roles for lots of players, maximizing their talent, while instilling a culture that has direct results: this team outperforms their talent in terms of rim pressure and rebounding. They give themselves a high basement by winning the possession battle almost every night.

My 4 questions for this team:

- Does JJJ have another level? Trip finally arrived defensively this year, but holy crap does his offense ever suck. The once-promising 3-point shooting has gone completely erratic. I used to think his wild low release would make him big man Chef Curry, but now he just looks like a child who needs to shoot from his hip to get the ball to the bucket. Taylor Jenkins empowers everyone to drive hard at the rim, but he might want to ask Trip to stop it. He'll just drive right into guys and go into a eurostep for no reason and fall down. Sometimes he hit tough shots, but he was absolutely rotten inside the paint this year. Just brutal numbers finishing (61% inside 3 feet) and in floater range (39%). He's one of the worst passers in the NBA. Surely he's capable of better than this? This was his worst offensive season so far. Career lows in a lot of key areas.

- Does Brandon Clarke have another level? After a weird off year, Clarke got right back to his bread and butter. Being an insane finisher anywhere inside 12 feet. Elevator hops combined with arguably the best floater we've ever seen. I'm not being hyperbolic I don't think. Does anyone else shoot a floater so effectively, with such range and elevation? It's legit one of the NBA's secret weapons and now we've seen it work in the playoffs (even if the Looney/Draymond combo was able to shut it off at times). The complimentary parts of his game have regressed though, mainly his shot. His limitations feel a little more glaring when he's not dominating as a finisher. He's a perfect dance partner for Ja, but he'd have more utility in more lineups (and be able to play starter minutes) if he could do a little more. I remember thinking he had some Shawn Marion potential, with his versatility and elevator hops, but he's got short arms and isn't looking as quick as I hoped on defense.

- Do they need a different wing? Dillon Brooks epitomizes this Grizzlies culture. The guy scores 18ppg on pure aggression. He's limited in terms of size and skill, but his confidence makes him a constant threat. He's also been the Grizzlies best perimeter defender, but again more through effort and intensity rather than quickness/length. But it kind of sucks for the Grizzlies in general, that they devote a lot of shot attempts to mediocre scoring options like Brooks and JJJ. As much as he plays like he's a star, the efficiency numbers paint a different story this year. He still clearly helps the team, but he's not qualified to be the Grizzlies 3rd scorer. As much as people say the Grizz need a 2nd star, what if they just had a slight upgrade at the 3 spot? I think the Grizz would be contending this year if JJJ and Dillon were better shooters, but if that doesn't happen, they need an actual wing. Right now they start 2 stubby shooting guards and compensate with intensity.

- Their not so old vets. Steven Adams and SloMo are 28. Tyus Jones is 25. These guys can literally be part of the core if Memphis can afford it. Everyone knows Tyus Jones now. Steven Adams is a cheat code (basically whatever team has Adams, leads the NBA in offensive rebounding and rebounding percentage every year. It's sneakily one of the more impressive bits of statistical dominance in recent memory) but they had to mothball him quite a bit in the playoffs, making his value to their championship asperations less clear. Not everyone pays attention to SloMo, but his playmaking and versatility are a big part of what makes the non-Ja Grizz lineups so functional. SloMo and Tyus Jones are free agents. Adams is the 2nd highest-paid player on the team (17.9m next year). The 29th most expensive team in the NBA is about to get expensive, so do the Grizz invest in these guys or prepare for life without them?

[BarbaGrizz]

Boss move would be to trade Morant for maximum value. He does trick moves but is a complete sieve on defense.

Morant for Fred + OG

Starting lineup:
Fred
Bane
OG
JJJ
Adams

Jones, Brooks, Anderson, Clarke, etc. off the bench

Looks like real contender now

There´s no amount of picks you can add to make this trade fair.

[life_saver]

Just a random aside, I love this "The Memphis Grizzlies are better without Ja" debate. It is understandably polarizing. I'm on one side of it (I believe they ARE better without Ja but they could even be better than they currently are if Ja changes his game some). It strikes at a lot about individual success vs. team success and what it means to strive for one or the other. I fully believe Ja is a team player with an individual success-driven game. It's such a complex dynamic and I look forward to see how it plays out in the future. I honestly hope they figure it out and get at least one championship.

I think they might be slightly better without Ja in regular season but I don't think they are better without Ja in playoffs..especially in 4th quarters of close games, they badly miss Ja's offense. That was evident in both G4 and G6.

[cupcakesnake]

Just a random aside, I love this "The Memphis Grizzlies are better without Ja" debate. It is understandably polarizing. I'm on one side of it (I believe they ARE better without Ja but they could even be better than they currently are if Ja changes his game some). It strikes at a lot about individual success vs. team success and what it means to strive for one or the other. I fully believe Ja is a team player with an individual success-driven game. It's such a complex dynamic and I look forward to see how it plays out in the future. I honestly hope they figure it out and get at least one championship.

I think they might be slightly better without Ja in regular season but I don't think they are better without Ja in playoffs..especially in 4th quarters of close games, they badly miss Ja's offense. That was evident in both G4 and G6.

Yes.
And for everyone that's gotten a little too excited about the No-Ja-Grizz: they were worse in the playoffs without Ja. Their defense improved significantly with him off the floor (104.72 DefRtg without Ja, 111.13 DefRtg with Ja), but their offense dropped off by a whopping 13 points of offensive rating (116.36 to 103.75)!!!!! Mean they were a +5.23 team with Ja on the floor and a slight negative (-0.97) with him off.

No question the defense improves without Ja, but against really good defense in the playoffs, the no-Ja offense just isn't enough to win a series.

[cupcakesnake]

Why do the other Grizzlies play better without JA?
I am not blaming JA. The other Grizzlies need to play as well with JA as they play without JA.

Grizzlies need to work on the stand around and watch JA problem. The Grizzlies need to keep that team together because they fit well together and are a serious threat to win the championship next year. Continuity is better than change for teams.

It's not a question of offense at all. The Grizz all season were better offensively with Ja on the floor. It's entirely a matter of defense where the Grizz become rock solid without him.

[Mavrelous]

It's really hard to pinpoint a single position for them to improve.