3 Grizzlies currently on the hot seat heading into 2023-24
By Mark Nilon
1. Taylor Jenkins
Even above star players, the person who tends to receive the most blame when things go south for a team in the NBA is the head coach, and Taylor Jenkins is no exception to this rule.
Despite boasting an impressive 179-130 overall record, guiding the Grizzlies to two consecutive 50-win seasons, and setting the team up to participate in three playoff runs over his four-year tenure, coming into 2023-24 the pressure is fully on for him to help guide Memphis over the hump.
At the very least, fans and media pundits alike want to see signs that Jenkins is getting the best out of what he has at his disposal, and an early test for this will undoubtedly come during the first two months of the regular season when he’ll be forced to run an offense with newcomer Marcus Smart serving as his lead guard as opposed to Morant.
While the veteran has certainly proven himself to be a more than competent starting one in the association throughout his, now, decade-long career, Joe Mullinax of the Locked on Grizzlies podcast recently discussed how Jenkins has struggled in the past to make adjustments when provided with differing skill sets than his scheme is used to, and has urged the headman to alter how he runs a system with Smart leading the charge instead of Morant.
"“It can’t be more of the same with Ja Morant out. You can’t have Marcus Smart as your starter and expect him to do the things that Ja Morant does,” Mullinax said. “I do worry about Taylor Jenkins because he’s had numerous opportunities to show that growth and it hasn’t come yet.”"
Even if the Grizzlies wind up claiming their third straight Southwest Division title, should they once again fail to so much as advance to the Conference Finals, Jenkins’ status as head coach of this team could very well be up in the air.
