With the Grizzlies' season ending earlier than expected for most of the fanbase, they turned to former players Steven Adams and Dillon Brooks as their Houston Rockets played seven games in their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors. Steven Adams, in particular, had the fanbase being emotional about him making his presence felt on another team outside of Memphis.
Adams was a beloved player for the Grizzlies for two seasons before two season-ending injuries led to the team trading him to the Rockets last February. After playing 13.7 minutes per game for the Rockets this season as a bench contributor, he played a big role in their victories to flip a 1-3 series deficit into a deciding Game 7.
However, his performance in Game 7 set a reminder of why the Grizzlies couldn't wait for Adams to heal to continue being their starting center for years to come.
History repeated itself for Steven Adams' playoff failures
Failure is a huge word when it comes to Steven Adams' role as an enforcer and rebounder when it comes to playoff basketball. However, he became unplayable in his last and only stint with Memphis in the playoffs, averaging 3.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game.
The problem at that time was that Adams was relied upon more heavily as the Grizzlies' starting center and had a bout with COVID-19 that slowed his progress in their second-round series against the Warriors at the time. Two years later, Adams became more effective against the same Warriors team in a bench role for the Rockets and was integral in their comeback attempt.
While his 5.7 points and 6.6 rebounding averages in their first-round series don't show much impact from a box score standpoint, Adams was a +16 in Game 4, +15 in Game 5, and +15 in Game 6 in the plus/minus column in his minutes against the Warriors this time around. The small Warriors lineup had trouble matching up against him and starting center Alperen Sengun.
The Rockets played them together to dominate the Warriors inside and on the boards, but the Grizzlies' version of playoff Steven Adams showed up in the pivotal Game 7. He only scored three points and secured seven rebounds while being a -9 in plus/minus in their 14-point loss to end their season.
Steven Adams is a force to be reckoned with, but his shortcomings when the games get tighter in the playoffs were something the Grizzlies couldn't afford to place their bet on. He showed why that reality became real when he was traded to the Rockets last year in Game 7.