The infamous “we’re good in the West” said by Memphis Grizzlies point guard and franchise player Ja Morant has come back to get them. He thought that getting a #2 seed in the West would be a pathway to the NBA Finals. He was surely wrong and the Memphis Grizzlies were eliminated by the #7 seed Los Angeles Lakers. Not only were they eliminated, they were annihilated by 40 points.
See, the Grizzlies have been a trash-talking team all season long and dancing in warmups before games. Now, they’re sitting home rethinking all that they’ve done this season and didn’t even get out of the first round. There are some concerns that the Memphis Grizzlies are facing and it’s time to address them:
Coaching: Simply put, Taylor Jenkins is not the right coach for this team. He’s failed to hold this team accountable, he’s let them talk a little too much while not proving anything and he hasn’t stepped up to the plate to make sure that this team stays humble in their pursuit of greatness.
Taylor Jenkins is a young coach but he lacks the experience to talk to these young players and let them know what it takes to win. The inexperience of these young, brash, bravado, ego driven, social media posting players hasn’t not bode well for them.
Two straight seasons of being the #2 seed in the NBA Playoffs and nothing to show for it. It’s time to rethink who should be the coach of this team going forward. An old school, no nonsense coach like Nate McMillan or Mark Jackson would be good fits for this young team.
Leadership: When NBA legends and former players say there’s a lack of veteran leadership in the locker room, this is the classic situation right here for the taking. Ja Morant’s offcourt issues, players not being dedicated to what’s at stake, the brashness of players like Ja, Dillon Brooks, and Jaren Jackson Jr only goes to show you how much growing these 20-somethings have to do and this season should be eye opening to them.
Ja Morant: He’s a star player and the fame has surely gotten to him. A 23 year old with a $230 million dollar contract, your own Nike sneaker, endorsements, being the franchise player and a family who leans on every dollar you make to live the lavish life. Of course, this will all get to a young player who isn’t in the right mind and has the wrong people around him. This year has been a journey of its own and if Ja has any intentions on being the face of the NBA when Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant fade off into the sunset of retirement, the maturity has to start here and now.
Along with that, it's time Ja spends this summer with Hall of Famer and NBA champion Dwyane Wade and here’s why. D-Wade came into the league as a highflying, slasher to the basket. He took the hits, fell to the hardwood a lot, and dealt with knee problems as his career progressed. The one thing Wade did was develop a mid range shot, a post up fadeaway and let’s not forget how Vince Carter changed his game to stay in the league an additional five years.
Ja can’t keep taking those hits at 170-175 lbs playing in a league as physical as the NBA. There’s just no way he’s going to last long. Trust me, I’m just a regular, pickup basketball player and I had to develop a jumper, quick moves and I’ve become the king of shooting floaters all because of Tony Parker. Being a highflyer comes at a price and as the years move forward, you become humbled very quickly (Vince Carter, Dwyane Wade, Aaron Gordon and Blake Griffin are perfect examples of this).
Jaren Jackson Jr: Hopefully his defensive player of the year didn’t get to his head. Or maybe it did and that’s where Anthony Davis had to humble the young kid and show what dominance looks like in the opening round of the playoffs. For a player who averages four fouls a game and everytime I turn on a Grizzlies game, he’s sitting on the bench with foul trouble. I'm still baffled at how he got Defensive Player of the Year but neither here nor there.
It’s time to get a jump shot where you extend your elbow and you get the right mechanics. You look like a six year old kid pushing the ball from your hip shooting the ball. You have a former shooting guard in your father who played in the pros, you can’t be pushing 7 feet tall and getting blocked when you shoot (Draymond Green at 6’6” blocked his shot last year in the playoffs, check the tape).
Dillon Brooks: The dust has settled and the Memphis Grizzlies management has made it clear that Dillon Brooks won’t be coming back to the team next season. While NBA players are coming to his aid, the reality is, he shot terribly this season. His trash talk got him in his own trouble so we can move that to the side for the moment.
Let’s be mindful that for a shooting guard/small forward to shoot 40 percent from the field and then shoot 33 percent from the 3-point line, it’s a cause for concern and to look at the bigger picture of this. Why would you give a player a contract extension for a lackadaisical year statistically? It doesn’t make sense to me.
That would be like giving an employee a pay raise for halfway work, it doesn’t equate. The NBA and many other corporations are “businesses” at the end of the day and there’s no longer a need for his services on and off the court. The Grizzlies I’m quite sure can get a veteran wing, who can shoot better and be a presence in a locker room that’s in desperate need of repair.
While people are laughing at Dillon’s loss of a job, I’m thinking to myself, “maybe it’s time he stops talking and starts improving.” He poked the best player in the NBA in LeBron James and that wasn’t the smartest move. LeBron made sure to have a 20 point, 20 rebound game and to push his team to close out the Grizzlies by beating them by 40 points.
Brooks will land back on his feet and play elsewhere next season, but he will have to improve his shooting significantly and play better defense if he plans to be in the league for the next few years.
All in all, the Memphis Grizzlies management team has to dig deep and figure out what’s next for them. It’s time to address the veteran leadership, the right role players, the roles for those on the team and looking forward to the future.
