After finishing off their latest campaign with their second consecutive number two-seeded finish in the Western Conference standings, expectations are once again rather high for the Memphis Grizzlies.
This coupled with their slew of roster-bolstering offseason moves has some such as ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne suggesting the club may be worthy of being thrust into the legitimate title contender conversation.
However, despite the praise they’ve been receiving, as they inch closer to the start of 2023-24, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Taylor Jenkins and company still have several sore spots associated with their arsenal that are in need of answers.
Biggest issues Grizzlies need to sort out during training camp
With training camp scheduled to kick off on October 3, the Grizzlies should look to use this time to address three of their biggest issues.
3. Derrick Rose
When Derrick Rose first signed with the Grizzlies back in early July, many believed the move to be predominantly based on the team’s desire to surround talented yet troubled centerpiece Ja Morant with strong veteran mentors and leaders to help keep him in check moving forward.
Though this ideology almost certainly still remains, recently Kelly Iko of The Athletic suggested the former MVP “might find himself playing more” with Memphis than many are anticipating and, looking at how their roster is currently constructed, he may be onto something.
With Morant already slated to be suspended for the first 25 games of the upcoming season, the team’s crop of playmakers and overall point guard rotation appears to be quite thin.
Add this to the fact that their presumed starting one for the beginning of the year, Marcus Smart, hasn’t necessarily proven himself to be a beacon for health throughout his career (has played in over 67 games just three times in nine years) and signs begin to point toward Jenkins and company hoping they can roll out Rose for consistent minutes within their rotation.
The only question is, can his body withstand such a task?
Tabbed as a concerning health risk since his fourth year in the association back in 2011-12, over the last two seasons the veteran has only managed to suit up for a combined 53 games out of a possible 236, with injuries playing a large role.
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However, from 2018 through 2021 (the three seasons prior to the mentioned injury-plagued timeframe), he proved to be quite reliable both from an availability and production standpoint and posted averages of 16.9 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game on 48.1 percent shooting from the field and 35.3 percent shooting from deep whilst predominantly coming off the pine.
Is D-Rose a complete shell of his old self as his 2022-23 season with the Knicks seemed to suggest (was pulled from the rotation about two months in seemingly without any real reasoning) or can a return to his collegiate stomping grounds in Memphis, Tennessee help him regain his 2020-21 form that saw him finish third in the running for Sixth Man of the Year?
Training camp may prove to be a good time to see what they may have in the 34-year-old.