The Memphis roster if you look at it is quite a young roster when compared to other teams. Not a lot of veteran presence on the team roster but the young rookies that Memphis has speaks volumes.
The Grizzlies went into rebuilding mode after trading away their main duo of star center Marc Gasol and point guard Mike Conley. This duo, along with a combination of a good supporting cast did make quite a few splashes in the Western conference playoffs but did not make it past the second round.
The Grizzlies front office pulled the plug and decided to rebuild the team from scratch and this time they’re focused on making a solid starting lineup around their upcoming rookie Ja Morant. Morant has a plethora of talent and potential and you can see it right from the start. He seems like a great combination of good passing and scoring ability. He is a fancy ball handler, can finish on the fastbreak with amazing dunks, can finish over taller defenders consistently even with contact and has a knack to find open teammates on the floor. And along with all of that, he can obviously stretch the floor and shoot the ball.
Video: Ja Morant & the Memphis Grizzlies
Now some other players that might be hidden gems on the Memphis Grizzlies squad are Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke and Dillon Brooks. Now these are all young players that have portayed glimpses of potential every now and then.
Jaren Jackson Jr. is a tall 6’11 power forward who can handle his own in the post and also has the ability to stretch the floor and hit the occasional three pointer.
Brandon Clarke is an another power forward on the team who comes off the bench and can duplicate what Jackson Jr. can do on the forward position. He also has the ability to play small forward but Grizzlies have enough talent on that position.
Then we come onto Dillon Brooks. A catch and shoot type shooting guard out of Oregon university, Brooks has developed his game of being more than just a shooter on the floor. He can now drive to the rim and dunk on defenders and can also pile up assists if he wants to.
Now some players that Memphis acquired through trade. Jonas Valanciunas is their starting center acquired from Toronto and has played a major role in turning the franchise around. A strong big man with the ability to overpower defenders at times, Valanciunas demands attention on the floor as he is a threat to score if you leave him alone. And one solid role player that the Grizzlies got from the Spurs is Kyle Anderson. Nicknamed ‘Slowbro’ due to his playstyle, Anderson is surprisingly awfully good when it comes to facilitating the ball and creating plays for others and he can obviously shoot the ball if you make the mistake of leaving him alone.
Now the last time the Grizzlies were good in their conference was when they had players like Mike conley, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen. That squad was a beast on both sides of the floor. Tony was the team’s defensive leader along with Zach Randolph and Gasol and Conley were their one and two main scoring options. That squad played with a lot of grit & grind and had potential but always fell short to better teams in their conference.
But with the squad that Memphis has right now and who they’re led by, I feel this time they’ll make an even bigger splash in the playoffs whenever they come to that point. For the next year or two, expect the Grizzlies to miss the playoffs but they’ll be a solid contender in the coming years.
Current Superstar – Ja Morant.
Past Superstars – Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph.
Past Legends – Shareef Abdur- Rahim.
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