Why Next Season Will Make Or Break The Memphis Grizzlies
By Jake Finnen
With the Memphis Grizzlies slowly slipping towards mediocrity in the West, this next season may decide the future of the team and its players.
Marc Gasol and Mike Conley are signed with the Memphis Grizzlies through the 2019-2020 season, so the fans can rely on them for the next few years. Regardless, this next season is going to dictate the future for the rest of Grizzlies.
Addressing The Now
The Memphis Grizzlies are a unique squad that contradicts the recent changes in the NBA. While the rest of league picked up the pace, the Grizzlies (along with the Utah Jazz) lead the charge to spearhead the quicker teams. In all honesty, it’s an extremely effective strategy – specifically, against the Warriors. The Grizzlies were one of the few teams to beat the Warriors by sticking to their style of basketball.
Very few teams beat the Warriors without throwing up a bombardment of threes. The Grizzlies are one of those teams. They beat them by slowing them down and hitting their shots. Unfortunately, by the end of the season, this wasn’t the case. The wear and tear from the season affected Conley and Gasol to a point where they couldn’t carry the team night in and night out all season long. They need much, much more support.
Addressing The Immediate Future
I won’t try to compare the Memphis Grizzlies to the Golden State Warriors. But, seeing how most of the Grizzlies are signed through to next season, it’s easy to say that missing next playoffs will likely result in a very different squad heading into 2019. Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, Vince Carter and JaMychal Green’s futures will be decided this summer, which will give a better depiction of what the Grizzlies’ future will contain.
Depending on the contracts that are signed this offseason, the Grizzlies will start the shift towards a quicker paced offense under Coach Dave Fizdale. Luckily, the rookies and second-year players like Andrew Harrison and Wayne Selden will have solid playoff exposure under their belts heading into next season. Both players have shown flashes of being key contributors, but still have that typical “young player hesitation” that plagues the youth of the league. The Grizzlies can absolutely make another run this year, but banking on a healthy Chandler Parsons to turn a first-round sweep into anything more will be detrimental to your health, and I wouldn’t advise doing so.
Why Next Season
This next season is going to be important, because we’re witnessing the Warriors’ greatness on a national scale. NBA fans are realizing the parity in the league was one sided. The Grizzlies have solid players, but even when healthy, producing, and effective, the Grizzlies won’t be able to win a series against the league’s elite. Assuming Mike Conley and Marc Gasol can beat the Warriors
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on their own is silly, but this leaves the future up for question. Do the Grizzlies compete, or do they attempt to build for the future? This next season, the Grizzlies will absolutely, without-a-doubt, be competing.
Therefore, the next season will be significant. If the Grizzlies, at full strength, can’t knock off the Warriors, they will need to go a different route in securing an NBA championship. Of course, if the Grizzlies suffer another injury-riddled season, I will be back here next year, saying the same thing. BUT, if the Grizzlies can’t improve this season, especially with other teams throughout the conference adjusting to the Warriors, the Grizzlies might be forced into making changes sooner than expected.