The Memphis Grizzlies have been playing pretty strong basketball all year long. Even though they haven’t found a ton of consistency, they’ve maintained their position in the NBA Playoff discussion.
Initially, it’s easy to say that Ja Morant has kept this team afloat, but in actuality, it goes much deeper than that. If I asked you which player has been Morant’s number two guy without Jaren Jackson Jr. in the lineup, who would you say?
Before the season, you’d probably look to Dillon Brooks, maybe even Kyle Anderson. But that hasn’t been the case so far this year.
The Memphis Grizzlies’ second best player has been Jonas Valanciunas
Not only has Jonas Valanciunas been the Grizzlies second best player all season, but in more than a handful of games, he’s been the best player on the team. He’s even been the best player on the court in a lot of these matchups.
The sticking point here is that Valanciunas has always been thought of as a guy with a very distinct ceiling. Even the most loyal JV fans just assumed he’d be a third option at best, but he has given everybody a reason to think twice about that.
With Jaren Jackson Jr. out, it was expected that Valanciunas would see an increase in his production, but that isn’t all that Taylor Jenkins has gotten out of him.
In an ugly loss against a decimated Golden State Warriors team, he was the only bright spot on this Memphis Roster. Most of the other players didn’t show up to play, but he was there, front and center.
Valanciunas marked another double-double, this time with 10 points and 16 rebounds. He’s been the only thing working on off nights for this team, and lately, there have been plenty of off nights to take a sample from.
He has recorded a double-double in 14 of his last 16 games of the season, including a 29-20 game where he was unstoppable against the Washington Wizards.
At some point, we have to consider the fact that Jonas Valanciunas is a star. With Ja Morant having a relatively disappointing year and Jaren Jackson Jr. out with injury, Valanciunas has looked like a great NBA player.
Most importantly, he has had a consistency to his game that has not been seen with any other player on this roster. He has been the rock holding this team down.
The sentence itself sounds ridiculous, but this man has been the most impactful player on this Grizzlies team in 2021 and it’s not even close.
Grizzlies fans can rest well at night knowing that their team has the center position locked down, but they’ll have nightmares about almost every other part of this team. Most specifically, the 3-point defense.