The Memphis Grizzlies were not supposed to do much this season. After Jaren Jackson Jr. was injured toward the end of 2019-20, the Grizzlies didn’t stand a chance in that year’s play-in game. They’d lose to the Trail Blazers and looked like an incomplete squad without their number two guy.
Looking forward to 2021, things looked bleak. Jaren Jackson Jr. was set to return sometime after the NBA All-Star break, meaning that the Grizzlies would have to play at least half of their season without him.
Little did fans know, they would have been lucky to have him back after the All-Star break. Over a month has passed since All-Star weekend and the Grizzlies are still playing without the second-best player on their team. But that’s the weird part.
The Memphis Grizzlies are playing their best basketball in years without Jaren Jackson Jr.
If you had to guess prior to the season what the Grizzlies record would be thus far without JJJ in the lineup, you’d assume that they have a losing record. It’s not a knock against the team, just a simple fact that a losing team is destined to take a step back without a key contributor.
But that hasn’t been the case at all in the 2020-21 season. In fact, the Grizzlies look like a vastly improved squad compared to how they played a year ago.
They’re rebounding extremely well, making efficient passes, and most importantly, winning big basketball games. They’re doing all of this without a guy who had the potential to make the All-Star game if he had played a full season.
Here’s why Jaren Jackson Jr.’s return will break the NBA.
The Memphis Grizzlies are in position to make the Western Conference Playoffs
Somehow, after a losing season with almost exactly the same roster, the Memphis Grizzlies have taken a step forward and are in position to make the Western Conference Playoffs.
Normally, an 8 seed would be a positive, but nothing to get too excited about. That said, the Western Conference is extremely vulnerable right now. Injuries have swept the entire league and the Grizzlies may benefit from the injury bug. Here’s how.
Nobody wants to see Jamal Murray go down and tear his ACL. It was a heartbreaking moment, even for rival teams. Grizzlies fans cannot be excited to watch that happen, but at the end of the day, it opens up a big opportunity for Memphis.
Currently, the Nuggets sit in the 4th spot in the Western Conference on a 2-game losing streak.
The Grizzlies are a decent distance behind them but could close the gap before the playoffs come around. The Nuggets will have a brutal schedule ahead of them, and without their second-best player, they may not be able to survive as the Grizzlies have.
But the team behind them isn’t the squad that they should be worried about. The Los Angeles Lakers sit in 5th place, playing without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It’s unclear when they’ll return, but for the next few weeks, they’ll be struggling mightily.
Pair this with the fact that the Dallas Mavericks have simply been worse than anticipated and the West could have a few mix-ups at the end of the year.
Here’s how the Grizzlies can capitalize on a vulnerable Western Conference.
The door is open in the West for the Memphis Grizzlies to capitalize
The Memphis Grizzlies have a rare opportunity here. While they clearly don’t have the talent to compete with some Western Conference teams without Jaren Jackson Jr. in the lineup, they have shown that this doesn’t matter.
All season long, this team has been punching above its weight class. They have proved this in big wins, including a dominating victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, one of the best teams in the league.
The Grizzlies have a tough schedule ahead of them, but if they can reach Jaren Jackson Jr.’s return with a winning record, they’ll be within striking distance of a locked-in playoff spot. That’s right, they have a chance to earn a guaranteed playoff seed instead of a play-in spot.
It’s not as far-fetched as it seems. The Mavericks are only a game and a half ahead of the Grizz, while the Lakers and Nuggets are five and six games ahead, respectively. But they don’t have to do that well.
Even if the Grizzlies don’t perform well up to that point, if they’re in a play-in spot, this team could do a lot of damage in the playoffs. Think about it — a winning team that is getting a bonus of having a top NBA big man back in their lineup.
If you’re a team in the play-in tournament, you’ll be hoping that you don’t have to come up against a Memphis Grizzlies team with Jaren Jackson Jr. If you’re a high-seeded team in the NBA Playoffs, there won’t be a more menacing low-seeded team than the Grizzlies.
No matter where Memphis ends up, they are poised to make some noise in the Wild West this year.