Memphis Grizzlies: Taylor Jenkins’ 2020-21 season was all over the place

Memphis Grizzlies HC Taylor Jenkins 2021 season was very far from flawless

Again, as a Memphis Grizzlies fan, you have to be happy with what you’ve seen out of Taylor Jenkins thus far. That said, there are some extremely clear holes in his head coaching style, which I am going to discuss now.

The first, and perhaps most glaring issue, is the fact that Jenkins is seemingly afraid to challenge any calls. I’ll go to the grave saying that the Grizzlies could have gotten 3-4 more wins on the season if Taylor Jenkins had challenged very distinctly bad calls that led to a Grizzlies one-possession loss.

There’s no list of total challenges by each NBA team but you’d have to imagine that Memphis would be near the bottom.

The second glaring issue is Jenkins’ inability to coach a game in late-game situations. In 2021, he took no strides in these games. In Jenkins’ defense, he was working with a team that was the youngest in the league for the bulk of the season. That said, the Grizzlies’ offense consistently disappeared at the end of important games.

More often than not, Jenkins would completely ditch the team’s offense, which was working, and opt to run Ja Morant isolation offense. In particular situations, this isn’t a bad idea, but when other teams see it coming, it’s a terrible idea. We probably watched this Memphis team throw away a dozen games to a lack of effort offense when it mattered most.

This could be Taylor Jenkins’ effort to get Ja Morant late-game experience. Regardless, it’s an area that we’ll hope to see improve in 2021-22.