The Memphis Grizzlies have lucked out in the past few days, taking a couple of losses but staying afloat in the 9th spot in the Western Conference. That said, they’re only a couple of games away from being bumped out of the play-in discussion entirely.
The next month of basketball without Jaren Jackson Jr. will tell fans a lot about who this team is. Currently, they’re hanging on by a thread. Can they hold on for a little bit longer?
There’s no specific date for his return, but late April was the timetable given for when we’ll see him back on the court. For the sake of this article, we’ll assume the worst-case scenario and say that he’ll be back by the Grizzlies’ first game in May.
If that’s the case, that’ll give this team 19 more games to hold things together without their number two guy.
Can the Memphis Grizzlies stay alive in the playoff race without JJJ?
Here are some notable teams that will show up during that period of time:
- Utah Jazz
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Dallas Mavericks
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Denver Nuggets
- LA Clippers
- Portland Trail Blazers
These aren’t all the tough teams either. The Grizzlies have an extremely tough path to the Western Conference playoffs in the most difficult conference in the NBA. They’ll look to come out around .500, giving JJJ a chance to help this team with a playoff push.
But in order to get there, certain players will need to step up in JJJ’s absence if this Grizzlies team wants a shot at the playoffs this year.
Here are 3 players who need to step up before Jaren Jackson Jr. returns.