3 key takeaways from Memphis Grizzlies Media Day

2. Steven Adams ‘can’t guarantee’ that he’s fully recovered from PCL sprain

Last year, starting pivot Steven Adams went down with a PCL sprain in late January and, unfortunately, missed their remaining 35 regular season games and the entirety of their playoff run as a result.

Now, as we approach the start of the 2023-24 campaign, the hope has been that the veteran will be back to full strength and, in turn, be ready to man the middle once again for this title-hungry Grizzlies club right from the jump what with the fact that he’s had nearly nine months to recover.

However, over the last few weeks rumblings have begun to surface indicating that while Adams is heading in the right direction, he may not yet be back to 100 percent. During Media Day, the big man himself couldn’t even commit to stating whether he’s back to a full-go, as he played it safe when asked during a Q&A with Grind City Media how his knee was feeling.

"“I think it’s at a good spot now because I’ve been rehabbing all summer so I think we’re in a pretty good position. I can’t guarantee anything but this next week in particular is training camp [and] it will be good info,” Adams said."

The difference with and without Adams in Memphis’ lineup last year was absolutely jarring.

As noted on many occasions in the past, during his 46 games before being shelved, the team ranked third in win percentage (.674), first in offensive rebounding (13.4), first in total rebounding (49.4), first in defensive rating (109.2), and second in net rating (5.4).

Following Adams’ injury-induced removal, the Grizzlies tanked in each of these aforementioned categories, ranking 13 (.556), 13 (10.3), 15 (43.1), ninth (112.6), and 13 (2.2), respectively.

If he’s not yet back to full strength heading into training camp, hopefully, he will be come October 25th’s season opener.