From fans to media pundits, it seems that everyone is highly confident that the Memphis Grizzlies will be able to reestablish themselves as a top-flight team during the upcoming 2024-25 NBA regular season.
Though they may have just taken part in one of their least successful seasons in recent memory (finished with the sixth-worst record of 27-55), considering the main reason for their follies was due to a slew of injuries that led to a record-setting number of lineups, with their core of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. slated to be back at full-strength as soon as October's tip-off, hope is strong that the team will be able to bounce-back during this year's campaign.
And while the heights at which their redemption season will reach are still yet to be known, to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, it "clearly" will end up seeing the Grizzlies back in the postseason picture.
ESPN's Tim Bontemps says Grizzlies will 'clearly' be back in postseason
During a recent appearance on The Hoop Collective podcast, the seasoned analyst noted that he's "buying" the narrative that the Grizzlies will be on the up and up this season, and highlighted their improved talent pool with guys like reigning All-Rookie selectee GG Jackson and incoming rookie behemoth Zach Edey now officially in the fold as a main draw for him to believe in them.
“I like the direction overall from a talent perspective. Getting GG Jackson and Vince Williams as a couple guys on the wing who can play minutes for them is big. And yeah, like you said MacMahon, there’s been a lot of talk about the playoff picture in the West, and for all these teams that are good, I think Memphis is clearly a top-six team if their guys are available and on the court,” Bontemps said.
While he would state in his assessment of the Grizzlies that, before anything, "obviously, we’ll see if Ja Morant can keep himself on the court," as he's proven to be somewhat unreliable over the years as a result of both injuries and off-court issues throughout his illustrious career, assuming he's back to full strength and ready to go Bontemps would say "I expect him to have a big year" and that Memphis is easily "one of the six-best teams in the West."
Last we saw this trio take part in the majority of a season, Taylor Jenkins' squad rattled off 51 wins, won their second-consecutive Southwest Division Championship, and finished off the year as the number two seed in the conference.
Even last season with Morant available for his mere nine games, Memphis went 6-3 over this stretch.
Now, with them heading back to the hardwood accompanied by the likes of promising complementary ballers such as Marcus Smart, Santi Aldama, Luke Kennard, GG Jackson, and Vince Williams Jr., Bontemps believes they're in line for a truly inspiring bounce-back.