A strong argument can be made that the Grizzlies have had one of the best offseasons in the entire NBA. If the Grizzlies were going to fully commit to a rebuild, they are in a strong position for year 1. Cam Boozer, Cedric Coward, and Zach Edey are an intriguing young core, and the Grizzlies are stacked with future picks. But if there is one improvement Tuomas Iisalo must make, it's to fix his minute distribution.
In all fairness, it was a much more difficult first season in Memphis than anticipated for Tuomas Iisalo as he faced a challenging injury situation and a stunning Jaren Jackson Jr. trade midseason. However, before the Grizzlies made a full commitment to improving their draft positioning, Iisalo's rotation patterns raise some significant concern for the future.
Tuomas Iisalo simply has to rely on his best players more
Tuomas Iisalo's heavy rotating makes sense in some ways, such as being able to give other teams more lineups to worry about. It also serves as the perfect mechanism for his "speed kills" philosophy, as he can play guys for shorter but more intense bursts. But if there is one clear drawback we saw last season, that is Iisalo not playing his best talent as much as other teams.
Even before Jaren Jackson Jr. was traded back in February, an alarming trend for the Grizzlies was how little their best players were playing compared to other teams in the league. Jaren Jackson Jr. averaged just 30.7 minutes per game before the trade, and Ja Morant averaged just 28.5 minutes before his season-ending left elbow UCL injury.
Looking at the minute distributions of other elite teams' best players throughout the league, they are typically playing at least 33-35 minutes per game. The Grizzlies just selected Cam Boozer third overall this summer, and players such as Cedric Coward and Zach Edey should feature heavily in the team's future plans.
While the Grizzlies aren't expected to contend right away, an easy way to speed up their rebuild and win more games is by simply playing their best talent more. It would simply be counterproductive to play Boozer, Coward, and Edey 30 or less minutes per game if they win.
Tuomas Iisalo's rotations could be career-defining
Even if it doesn't result in immediate winning, the Grizzlies need to give themselves more of a fighting chance against teams better than them or around a similar level. Probably one of the biggest reasons the Grizzlies blew leads early in the season was by not playing their best players enough.
There are other fair criticisms of Tuomas Iisalo's coaching style, but the number one adjustment that must be made for this season is for him to play his best guys more. But on the flip side, Iisalo is starting to show signs of being strong with player development and showing different wrinkles offensively.
It still remains to be seen if Tuomas Iisalo is the right coach for the Grizzlies long-term, but showing a willingness to adjust his rotations should help him deliver better NBA results going forward.
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