2 Underrated Grizzlies who will shine in new roles this season

The Grizzlies have all their stars (Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr.) relatively healthy (Jackson Jr. has a low-grade hamstring strain) as they begin their quest back to the top of the Western Conference. Also, with the starting lineup set with Marcus Smart and Zach Edey, they have a group that knows their roles.

Ja Morant is the best player and will set the tone as the primary ball handler. Desmond Bane is the sharpshooter and secondary scorer. Marcus Smart is the primary defender of the opponent's best perimeter player. Jaren Jackson Jr. is the third option and roaming defender. Zach Edey is the clean-up man with the rebounds and will protect the paint on defense.

Everyone on the bench will retain their roles. Luke Kennard is the sharpshooter, Vince Williams Jr. is the primary defender as the "three-and-d" wing, Brandon Clarke will be the clean-up man on the rebounds and provide elite athleticism, and Santi Aldama will space the floor. Jake LaRavia will play the three-and-d role when his number is called, and John Konchar will do all the dirty work of whatever is needed.

Jaylen Wells is a rookie but figures to play the three-and-d role whenever his number is called. With the exception of him and not including the two new two-way players, Cam Spencer and Jay Huff, everyone else is retaining the role they played and was going to play if everyone was healthy last season, with the exception of Zach Edey because he is a rookie.

New Roles

The two remaining players to play a role that they didn't get to play last season or even in the Summer League are GG Jackson and Scotty Pippen Jr. GG Jackson will miss at least the first month and a half of the regular season with a broken foot but figures to play the multi-positional flexible bucket getter off the bench role.

Although GG Jackson played that role some last season, he is the only player outside the rookies and all of the two-way players (Scotty Pippen Jr. included) who have not gotten a chance to play with Ja Morant. Also, GG Jackson started 17 of his final 18 games last season, which he figures to not have much opportunity for this upcoming season, pending injuries to others.

As impressive as he looked, averaging 14.6 points in 48 games last season, GG will look even better when he has an opportunity to share some floor minutes with Ja Morant. Scotty Pippen Jr.'s role will be completely different as he was the starting point guard for the last half of the season in the games he was available.

He started 16 of his 21 games with the team after signing a two-way contract, averaging 12.9 points and 4.7 assists on 49.3% shooting, including 41.7% from three. Pippen Jr. will challenge for the backup point guard role and may be asked to be more of a facilitator than a scorer. Due to his talent as a scorer, expect him to provide a mix of both and quality depth for a team looking to compete in the Western Conference.