3 Grizzlies players who could get axed from Playoff rotation

1. Ziaire Williams

There were moments this season when 2021 10th overall pick Ziaire Williams looked the part of a true asset for the Grizzlies. He put up 16 points on 6-7 shooting against Orlando in January, and another 16 points against the Suns later that month. He even just had a career-high 24 in the final game of the regular season, albeit playing over 33 minutes.

That being said, you can’t ignore how inefficient he has been during his second NBA season. He put up .429/.258/.773 shooting splits this year, compared to .450/.314/.782 splits as a rookie. On top of that, he had a -6.4 net rating on the season, the worst among players who played at least 500 minutes for Memphis this year. He has also dealt with injuries this season, which combined with time down in the G-League caused him to play just 37 games with Memphis during the season.

Overall, he is even less prepared to be a playoff contributor than as a rookie. Could he still be given a role just because they lack wing depth? Maybe. But if he does get any minutes, don’t expect it to be close to the over 16 he got per game in last year’s playoffs. The Grizzlies can’t afford to be as willing to play their still-developing young players if they want to get past even the Lakers, let alone what will lie ahead.