Steven Adams has 18 games under his belt as the starting center for the Memphis Grizzlies, with very little to show during that time.
We aren’t quite a third of the way through the season, but we are starting to get a good indication of what a player’s nightly contribution is going to be.
So far, Steven Adams has been playing poorly and it seems like Head Coach Taylor Jenkins should at least be considering a lineup change.
Would the Memphis Grizzlies be better off with Steven Adams moving to the bench?
Adams is averaging 24.8 minutes, 5.4 points per game, and 1.4 turnovers per game in the month of November. He’s got a +/- of -2.3 in November.
Why isn’t Jenkins at least entertaining the idea of switching it up? Put in a player who’s far more efficient with a wider skill set. He could accomplish this in a few different ways.
He could slide Jaren Jackson, Jr. to center and put Brandon Clarke in at the power forward spot. He could keep Jackson at the power forward and bring in Xavier Tillman, Sr. at center. There are so many different ways you could do this.
It’s so obvious Adams does not fit in with this team or this lineup. Of the players on the team who have logged appearances in at least two games this season, Adams is the only player to not have attempted a three-point shot.
Adams only averages 2.3 more rebounds per game than point guard Ja Morant— that’s not something that should be particularly close.
What does Steven Adams bring to the starting lineup that could not be had with Brandon Clarke or even Xavier Tillman?
This is just one of the many head-scratching choices Jenkins continues to make that creates doubt of whether or not this is the right man for the Grizzlies to take a step past the development/play-in phase of the Morant era.
Jenkins needs to give Clarke or Tillman an audition in the starting lineup to see if it gives more fluidity and options for the rest of the starting five.