Memphis Grizzlies Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images
Time is ticking on the 2020-21 NBA season, and for the Memphis Grizzlies, that means time is ticking on several notable storylines as well.
This season has been a wild one for the Grizzlies. There were hopes that the team would take a big leap forward during Ja Moran’t second season, but the team has mostly hung around the fringes of the Western Conference playoff discussion.
In a crucial season, these 3 storylines will come to an apex for the Memphis Grizzlies
Part of the reason for the middle-of-the-pack performance of the Grizzlies has been the injury to Jaren Jackson Jr. He only recently made his season debut and has since shown flashes of the great player the franchise thinks he will ultimately be.
Morant also hasn’t taken the giant leap forward that was expected of him. One can argue that the expectations were too high after his sensational rookie season. But Morant may have to do more to show that he’s going to be the star of this team for the next decade.
Then there’s the playoff push, of course. While the Grizzlies didn’t ascend into the next Western Conference tier, they’re still hanging around the postseason, aided by the advent of the play-in tournament. The team will almost surely be playing at least one meaningful game after the regular season ends, if not more.
Last year, the Grizzlies were one of the teams to be invited to the bubble in Orlando. Their playoff dream was quickly dashed in a play-in game by the Portland Trail Blazers, though.
What should Grizzlies fans be looking out for down the homestretch? Here are three storylines to keep an eye on.
Memphis Grizzlies</a>, that means time is ticking on several notable storylines as well.</p>
<p>This season has been a wild one for the Grizzlies. There were hopes that the team would take a big leap forward during Ja Moran’t second season, but the team has mostly hung around the fringes of the Western Conference playoff discussion.</p>
<h2>In a crucial season, these 3 storylines will come to an apex for the Memphis Grizzlies</h2>
<p>Part of the reason for the middle-of-the-pack performance of the Grizzlies has been the injury to Jaren Jackson Jr. He only recently made his season debut and has since shown flashes of the great player the franchise thinks he will ultimately be.</p>
<p>Morant also hasn’t taken the giant leap forward that was expected of him. One can argue that the expectations were too high after his sensational rookie season. But Morant may have to do more to show that he’s going to be the star of this team for the next decade.</p>
<p>Then there’s the playoff push, of course. While the Grizzlies didn’t ascend into the next Western Conference tier, they’re still hanging around the postseason, aided by the advent of the play-in tournament. The team will almost surely be playing at least one meaningful game after the regular season ends, if not more.</p>
<p>Last year, the Grizzlies were one of the teams to be invited to the bubble in Orlando. Their playoff dream was quickly dashed in a play-in game by the Portland Trail Blazers, though.</p>
<p>What should Grizzlies fans be looking out for down the homestretch? Here are three storylines to keep an eye on.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/01/memphis-grizzlies-3-storylines-apex/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 3 </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images</p>
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<h3>Memphis Grizzlies story No. 1: Jaren Jackson Jr.’s recovery</h3>
<p>While Morant is the future of the Grizzlies, no man is an island. He’s going to need a sidekick to get Memphis where they want to go. All indications have pointed towards Jaren Jackson Jr. being the next primary weapon for the team.</p>
<p>That plan was dealt a major setback last year. On August 4, Jackson suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee. The injury forced him to miss the rest of action in the bubble, as well as the first handful of months of the 2020-21 season.</p>
<p>Jackson <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/01/memphis-grizzlies-3-storylines-apex/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/22/memphis-grizzlies-jaren-jackson-jr-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made his season debut</a> on April 21. He showed plenty during that opening game against the LA Clippers, scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds in just 18 minutes.</p>
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<p>The following game, Jackson put up his best performance of his young season, scoring 23 points in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers. He also grabbed his only steal of the season so far in that game and committed a season-low four fouls (which isn’t saying much, but still).</p>
<p>Jackson has played in four games this season, never scoring less than ten points in any of those contests. He’s averaging 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. He’s noticeably struggling from three-point distance, though, trying to shake off the rust with a 19.0 percent conversion rate so far.</p>
<p>The Grizzlies have also been resting Jackson on and off since his return. The team will obviously want him to contribute in the postseason, but they’ll shut him down the second there’s a setback. His status throughout the last few weeks needs to be monitored.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/01/memphis-grizzlies-3-storylines-apex/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 2 </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images</p>
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<h3>Memphis Grizzlies story No. 2: Ja Morant’s road to superstardom</h3>
<p>After Ja Morant’s sensational rookie year, anything short of a run at an All-NBA team was going to feel like a disappointment. So while it feels ridiculous to call Morant’s sophomore effort a disappointment, he hasn’t quite taken the hoped for steps forward this season.</p>
<p>Morant is still ridiculously good, don’t get it twisted. He’s averaging 19.5 points and 7.3 assists per game. It’s just not a big progression from last season, when he averaged 17.8 points and 7.3 assists per game.</p>
<p>Vitally, Morant has actually taken a step in the wrong direction when it comes to his three-point shooting. He hit just over a third of his attempts last year, 33.5 percent. This year, however, he’s hitting just 29.9 percent of his three-point attempts.</p>
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<p>Consistency would go a long way for Morant’s game. He scored more than 30 points twice in the month of April, including a 36-point outburst against the Denver Nuggets, though that game went into double-overtime.</p>
<p>But he also has scored ten points or less four times this month. He scored just eight points in Friday night’s win over the Orlando Magic. Memphis didn’t need him to score much – the Grizzlies won by 17 points – but eight points in 33 minutes is just not going to cut it for the team’s best player.</p>
<p>There’s obviously no reason to panic with Morant, as development ebbs and flows are to be expected. But Memphis is still waiting to see the former second overall pick kick it into the next gear.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/01/memphis-grizzlies-3-storylines-apex/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 1 </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Photo by Ashley Landis – Pool/Getty Images</p>
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<h3>Memphis Grizzlies story No. 1: The playoff push</h3>
<p>Nothing is more important to the Grizzlies than the final push towards the postseason. After last season’s quick bow out from the play-in tournament, Memphis is smarting to make more noise this spring.</p>
<p>Memphis hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2016-17 season and haven’t won a playoff series since 2015. They could be hard-pressed to change both of those statistics this season.</p>
<p>Following Friday’s win over the Magic, the Grizzlies are 32-30 this season. With ten games remaining in the regular season, Memphis is positioned in the eighth spot in the Western Conference, one game behind Portland in the loss column and one game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs.</p>
<p>The play-in tournament seems to be a certainty for this team. It is going to be hard to make up three games on the Dallas Mavericks for sixth place in the Western Conference, but there’s almost no chance they fall out of the play-in, with the New Orleans Pelicans trailing by five in the loss column.</p>
<p>Memphis actually has a fairly easy schedule from here on out. Outside of a home game against the Knicks and a home game against the Mavericks, they play no teams in the top six of their respective conferences. They also still have dates with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and two home games against the Sacramento Kings.</p>
<p>Still, nothing is guaranteed once the play-in tournament begins. If the Grizzlies want to feel safe, they’re going to have to make the miraculous push towards Dallas and the sixth spot in the Western Conference.</p>
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