Get on the Good Foot: Memphis Grizzlies Week in Review and Three Takeaways

Marc Gasol’s broken right foot headlines Memphis Grizzlies related news. We’ll take a look back at the week that was and a look ahead to what the Grizzlies will do with their superstar center out indefinitely.

The Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 106-112 in overtime, and lost Marc Gasol for the season. In their last game before All-Star Weekend, the Grizzlies trounced the Brooklyn Nets 109-90.

Without further ado, here’s your Memphis Grizzlies Week in Review with three key takeaways.

February 8 Grizzlies vs Portland Trail Blazers

The Grizzlies dropped a disappointing loss at home, falling to the Blazers 106-112 in overtime, but losing the game was only the tip of an iceberg of awfulness.  Marc Gasol left the game with what was first assumed to be a less serious injury, but then reported as a season-ending broken foot. Before exiting the game, Big Spain just barely managed to resist the powerful and widely shared urge to punch Meyers Leonard in the face. 

As we discussed earlier in the week, losing the team’s offensive and defensive anchor portends serious implications for not only the current season, but for the long term well being of Gasol and the Grizzlies. We’ve yet to learn many of the details of Gasol’s broken foot, but for an overview of potential complications of similar basketball-related foot injuries, refer to this piece Peter Edmiston wrote for the Commercial Appeal.

February 10 Grizzlies vs Brooklyn Nets

Following the loss of Gasol, and with reserve center Brandan Wright still recovering from his own injury and consequent surgery, Coach Dave Joerger gave Zach Randolph a rare start at center. JaMychal Green, following Jeorger’s temporary amnesia that resulted in his failure to recall that JaMychal exists and is good at basketball, suddenly reappeared and played some of his best basketball of the season while starting at power forward. The adjustments worked out pretty nicely for the crew in Memphis Sounds uniforms.

While it’s unclear how much of the 109-90 rout of Brooklyn is credited to the success of the Grizzlies adapted small-ball lineup versus how much is attributable to the Nets being a laughably shameful atrocity to the sport of basketball, the win was a much needed positive note for Memphis. The Grizzlies shot 52 percent from the floor including 45 percent from three-point range and dominated the third quarter by outscoring the Nets 39-18.

Memphis made a strong collective effort, with seven Grizzlies finishing in double figures including Mike Conley with a game-high 20 points, Jeff Green with 18 off the bench, Z-Bo with 15, JaMychal Green with 13,  Vince Carter with 11, and Mario Chalmers and Courtney Lee scoring 10 points each. Tony Allen and Ryan Hollins rounded out the balanced attack with six points apiece.

Three days prior to the incredible All-Star dunk contest showdown between Aaron Gordon and Zach Lavine, the Grizzlies’ resident dunk champion emeritus, Vince Carter, slammed home a few dunks of his own, including this one during the win over Brooklyn.

All-Star Weekend

There are several events during the NBA’s All-Star weekend: a celebrity basketball game, the Rising Stars Challenge, a non-basketball Talent Challenge, a three point contest, a dunk contest, and the actual All-Star game itself. This year not a single Memphis Grizzlies player was involved in any All-Star event in any capacity. That’s right, “The Property Brothers” and Nick Cannon played a bigger role in the NBA’s All-Star Weekend than any Memphis Grizzly.

Three Takeaways

1. We don’t know the exact prognosis of Gasol’s foot injury, but the outlook could be bleak

The best-case scenario for the Grizzlies seems to be the possibility that Gasol has to miss the rest of the season and some of next season, but makes a full recovery and returns to All-NBA form in plenty of time for next season’s playoffs, assuming the Grizzlies still have the players and win total necessary to make another playoff appearance. Depending on the severity and precise location of the bone fracture, this type of injury for a seven-footer could potentially trigger an accelerated decline into the twilight or even the termination of an NBA career. Hopefully the extent of Marc’s injury suggests something more similar to the best case scenario than the latter.

1. The frontcourt combo of Zach Randolph and JaMychal Green is a good look for the Grizz

You probably noticed that the four-five tandem of JaMychal Green and Z-Bo worked out well for the Grizzlies in their first game without Gasol against the beleaguered Brooklyn Nets, but you may not have noticed how potent this frontcourt combination has been for the Grizzlies all year long. In a relatively substantial sample size of 259 minutes in 33 games in which the Grizzlies have utilized lineups featuring both Green and Randolph, those lineups have produced a favorable net average of +7.2 points per 100 possessions. More on this in an upcoming post, but as the Grizzlies go through the rest of the season without Big Spain, keep an eye out for lineups featuring this pair of big men, because the duo tends to do well for Memphis on both ends of the court.

1. There’s no real pressure or imminent need for the Grizzlies to make a major trade before the deadline

As they stand right now with Marc Gasol out of commission, and given what the Western Conference has been this season, the Grizzlies’ current roster is good enough to make the playoffs. It’s quite possible the Grizzlies could fall to the the sixth seed if passed by the Dallas Mavericks, and it’s also possible the seventh place Utah Jazz and eighth place Trail Blazers could surge ahead of the Grizz dropping them to the final playoff spot and a certain first round exit courtesy of the Golden State Warriors. It’s also possible the Houston Rockets finally stop underachieving and James Harden leads a charge for playoff contention, but it doesn’t seem probable that the Grizzlies could finish any lower than eighth, or at worst maybe maybe ninth in the conference, especially considering the Sacramento Kings currently rank tenth while holding a season record eight games under .500.

As most long-time Grizzlies fans will recall, it’s still more fun pulling for a winning team that gets swept in the first round than it is following a team that endures back-to-back 60-loss seasons.

More from Beale Street Bears

• Dillon Brooks speaks out after beating former Grizzlies teammate in World Cup
• Jaren Jackson Jr. puts ex-Grizzlies teammate on notice
• 3 players Grizzlies would consider trading Ja Morant for
• Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr. put on blast following FIBA elimination
• Ex-Grizzlies guard signs with title favorite, joins forces with 6-time All-Star

And One:

In case you missed it, here’s Tony Allen dancing up off the bench to properly celebrate a Grizzlies three point basket, and a Nets fan looking on in utter confusion.

Who got next?

After a nice long All-Star break, your basketball bears return to action on Friday, February 19th to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at the FedExForum in Memphis.