The NBA season is still young, and the teams around the association are adapting to the grind of the long season. Most teams are nearing the 10-game mark, which signifies whether a team has had a good start to their season or not.
The road ahead isn't linear for all teams but the pecking order has been established in the early going. The Grizzlies fall in the middle of the pack of teams hovering around .500 after increasing their record to 5-4 after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers at the FedExForum last night.
Due to the battle-tested scars that all teams have experienced thus far in the early season, Grant Hughes from Bleacher Report released an article to describe every NBA team's season in one word. The answers are intriguing and fairly accurate throughout, especially the one word used to describe the Grizzlies season right now.
Resourceful
The word "resourceful" was used to describe the Grizzlies season and that word hit the nail on the head for describing the team's early season perseverance. The word resourceful means to find clever ways to overcome difficulties and this team definitely has a stranglehold on knowing how to overcome their fair share of difficulties with injuries and off-court things.
Even when thinking past the players, the Grizzlies defeated the Los Angeles Lakers without head coach Taylor Jenkins, who missed the game due to a death in the family. New assistant coach Tuomas Ilsalo led the team to their huge victory over the LeBron James-led Lakers without two starters and four rotational players.
After an injury-filled season last year, the Grizzlies entered this season with the same problems after injuries to GG Jackson, Vince Williams Jr., and Cam Spencer right before training camp. Jaren Jackson Jr. joined the list on the first day of camp and Luke Kennard joined the list during the preseason.
The Grizzlies' regular starting five has only played one game and a half of basketball together and the article mentioned how the team set the NBA record for most starting lineups used last season and how they are no strangers to getting a roster together despite the injuries. The article commended how the Grizzlies found a hidden gem in Jay Huff, who has potentially made himself a mainstay in the rotation.
The Grizzlies entered training camp with two players who were on two-way contracts that are now on the Grizzlies roster and have been a part of the playing rotation in every game this season in Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jay Huff. They also have a rookie second-round pick who wasn't expected to play much early on and has found himself in the top three on NBA.com's first iteration of the Rookie Ladder in Jaylen Wells.
Jake LaRavia is another player the team didn't expect to have to rely on as much as they have early this season, and together, that bench unit, along with Brandon Clarke, has outscored eight of their nine opponents. The reinforcements will be on the way soon as Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, and Vince Williams Jr. are expected back in the coming weeks.
Luke Kennard just returned against the Lakers, and although Ja Morant left the game with an injury, it doesn't sound serious. The Grizzlies have been very resourceful with how they have built the roster, and last season's hurdle helped pave the way for the team to understand how to manage in the early going of the new NBA season.