Heading into the regular season, the Memphis Grizzlies have a big question to answer regarding their starting lineup. After having surgery to repair a stress fracture on his foot, Jaren Jackson Jr. is expected to miss time to start the year. While the updates on his rehab have been positive, it remains unclear when he’ll be able to join his team on the floor.
During his media day press conference, Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins opened up on filling the void left by the 23-year-old. He understands there are multiple routes the team can go and is even open to some experimenting.
"Nothing is set in stone in terms of how we would start if Jaren were to be out. I think there’s a lot of different options we can go to. Even looking at combinations of BC and X together. Something that we haven’t really done a whole lot in the past but obviously we’ve been putting our thinking caps on. Understand that we’ve got a lot of great depth, we can go a lot of different directions."
Replacing the production of JJJ will not be easy for the Grizzlies. In 78 games last season, he averaged 16.3 PPG and 5.8 RPG while leading the league in blocked shots. Lucky for Jenkins, he has multiple different avenues he can explore.
Over the years, Memphis has done a fine job of drafting promising young talent. Two of the more under-the-radar additions they’ve made over the years are Brandon Clarke and Xavier Tillman. If Jackson Jr. is sidelined to start the year, these two are near the top of the list of possible candidates to fill his spot in the starting lineup.
Both players are physical forwards who can get it done on both ends, but they share a common weakness. That being poor shooting numbers from beyond the arc. With a downhill threat like Ja Morant running the offense, the Grizzlies need proper floor spacing if they want to succeed.
As a rookie, Clarke showed promise as an outside threat (35.9% from deep), but his numbers continue to trend in the wrong direction. Putting another non-shooter next to Steven Adams in the frontcourt could prove to be problematic.
Given that the Grizzlies are a younger team and their star thrives in the open court, experimenting with a smaller lineup could yield positive results. Clarke and Tillman might be slightly undersized at six-foot-eight, but their strong rebounding skills should allow them to warrant a small-ball lineup.
On the offensive end, Memphis could up the tempo and play a transition-heavy style in hopes of running the opponent out of the gym.
With all the talent on the roster, Jenkins is making the right move by being open to all possible options. Replacing JJJ won’t be easy, but the Grizzlies are more than capable of weathering the storm until he’s able to return to action.