And yet when the world needed him most, he vanished.
Article by: Riley Staton (@threewindrileys on Instagram)
Photo Credits: Brandon Dill/AP
A long time ago, 370 million light years away...
Person One: Ground control, we appear to be reaching the starting point of our voyage. Still no sign of our captain.
Person Two: Emergency protocol implemented?
P1: Yes sir. Our two temporary captains have been assigned. For being some of the most experienced cadets in our circle it's not exactly a shocker, per se, but their performance thus far has been exemplary. Their work to, you know, sort out some of the pressures that we'd been facing trying to get where we needed to be can be argued as a legitimate improvement, I cannot lie to you.
P2: Wonderful! You do say alleviate some of the pressures, and while it does reassure me a little, what other pressures have you faced?
P1: ...
P2: Sarge?
P1: We may have lost a wing.
P2: Pardon, must've misheard that. Say it again for me?
P1: We uhmmm, we... we lost a wing.
P2: A WING?!?! How the hell do you lose a wing!? You said our temps were doing good, how in the hell do you lose a wing??
P1: So it's a funny story...
P2: Do you realize how badly this puts our mission at jeopardy? We've been on a voyage to find our promised land for twenty-eight damn years and you want to put us in jeopardy now?
P1: Well how in God's name do we alleviate this problem then, armchair cap? Do you want us to turn around and put ourselves at more risk?
P2: Calm it, calm it. We're getting nowhere screaming at each other. There has to be a way. I know others have made it before. Someone makes it every year, somebody has had to have been hit with worse.
P1: Well, I mean I can't fault you for being an optimist, but I mean... we ARE missing an entire wing. Our ship's tilting. Like, literally tilting. Hell, Captain Trip looks like he's about to vomit.
P2: I mean, our situation isn't exactly "ideal," but do you think there's any way around this one?
P1: Well... I don't exactly have a positive outlook at the current moment.
P2: ... I really hate to say it, but I'm starting to fear the worst.
This team has taken everything from me.
Every Grizzlies fan knew it would be rough. Half of our offensive plays were screen and cuts for him. He was our leader, our chosen one. The only player you thought of when you thought about the Memphis Grizzlies. The face of the franchise, in the most literal sense. It was him. Ja was us. As much as I know, and as much as every other Grizzlies fan knows, it's just 25 games, but words cannot describe how excruciatingly long it has already felt. Some teams are ready to face the storm when it matters most. The coach of the best basketball team (who shall not be named) of all time had to leave the team for multiple months, and they still set the NBA's all time winning record. The second best team of all time were led by a man who hadn't played a full season of professional basketball in three years. By all metrics, a good season isn't out of the question yet completely, but the fact that this is the team's current goal with this much talent on the roster speaks volumes about where they're at, and how well their depth chart and coaching plans are truly built.
There are four players on the team (Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, Ziaire Williams) who average a higher PPG per replacement. There's a clear divide out of these two sets of names; Jackson Jr. and Bane are, to no one's surprise, the "leaders" of the team. While Bane has shown himself to be a capable temporary first option, Jaren's consistency leaves a tad bit to be desired. While I'm not going to be one to harp on a player putting up 16 a game ESPECIALLY when their highest potential capabilities are on the defensive side. I'd much prefer a four-game stretch of 20-20-20-20 than 8-21-16-30. Ziaire Williams isn't likely going to be what anyone thought he'd be coming into the league, but as the fifth~ish option on what's supposed to be a contender, his averages of 10/7 (p/r) on 44% shooting from the field and 36% from three is passable at least. I would say the same about Marcus Smart if he simply stopped trying from beyond the arc. Thirty-one percent? I know he's a recent DPOY winner but as a guard... yikes. He isn't even the biggest disappointment in terms of perimeter guys on this team. Luke Kennard might be a bum outright. 26% from the FIELD. No, your eyes don't deceive you, that is his FIELD GOAL percentage. I'll save you the trouble of looking up his three point percentage; he decided to make it match his field goal percentage almost identically. How cute. Other players, such as Xavier Tillman, David Roddy, and John Konchar have been there. They've definitely got some minutes.
So what's the problem? Is it really just the main player of the team being absent? Firstly, the team simply needs more shooting consistency. The team shouldn't be in a situation where their best pure shooter is making only a tiny bit over every fourth shot attempt. Inconsistency doesn't just display itself there, either. For the first few games, the Grizzlies were performing about league average on defense. In the last two games before the team's eventual first win of the season, they gave up 125 and 133 points, respectively. I understand the idea that the team's expecting trouble without their best star, but defense isn't even Morant's calling card. Memphis has the previous two defensive players of the YEAR on the team, and things still aren't clicking. If you ask me, I genuinely think it's a chemistry issue. I'm aware that a single player's temporary absence shouldn't completely tank a squad as much as it has with this team, but when so much of your offensive scheme is ran through him, it's not going to be easy to adjust to a completely new system. I'm sure the fact that the team is missing another significant starter (Steven Adams) isn't helping much to fan the flames. As much as I hate to twiddle my thumbs as a fan and act like it doesn't really matter since we're getting what we need soon, it still hurts so damn much at the same time. My heart is broken Memphis, and the blood is on your hands.
God bless you Portland.
RECORD CHECK: 1-6 (1W)