The Memphis Grizzlies seemed to be falling down the wrong path at the beginning of this young season, as they lost a slew of games to very bad teams. Now, it seems like they may be going back in the right direction.
This team is very young, which we have preached over and over. In fact, they are the second youngest NBA team in the league, just .1 average years behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night, helping them get their mojo back
Young teams make mistakes, that’s proven. And this team has made some already. The loss to New Orleans is a great example of that. They went from losing to the league’s worst team to beating a great team in the Los Angeles Clippers.
In that game, nearly everyone played well. We can expect Ja Morant to play like this at an everyday level by now, so he will not be on the list. However, there are some other players who normally do not play as well on this list of three great players from Thursday’s win.
Three strong performances by Grizzlies vs. Clippers
Jaren Jackson Jr., F/C:
I’m sure the Memphis Grizzlies really appreciated the game from Jackson Jr. on Thursday night. He played a great all-around game, including his scoring and defense. The young forward was able to score 18, making that the second-highest total of the game behind Morant’s 28. However, he also blocked four shots, something we have been wanting to see more of this season.
Desmond Bane, G/F:
Desmond Bane may be one of the most underrated players on this team. He never really has a bad game, and if he isn’t scoring, he is doing so many other things. However, against the Clippers, he was scoring.
Bane was hitting pull-up jumpers, finishing at the rim, and hitting threes, something we all love to see from the sophomore. If he keeps playing like this, he will be the best steal from his draft class.
Brandon Clarke, F/C:
The second-year big man from Gonzaga is another player looking like an absolute steal for the Grizzlies. Brandon Clarke did not have a great start to the season and was in fact forced out of the rotation. However, as of late, he has worked his way back into it with some great play like he had against the Clippers.
Off the bench, Clarke led the second unit in scoring and was very efficient in doing so. While going 7-9 from the field, Clarke was able to score 14 points in just 15 minutes, the type of production Memphis needs from him.
The Grizzlies have great role players, and if they can keep stringing together good performances, the sky is the limit for this team. There is no telling where Ja Morant will lead this team.