The Memphis Grizzlies had been sick for just one point heading into the fourth quarter of their game against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. Eight minutes later, they were sick until the 13th minute, en route to a second consecutive disappointing home defeat.
For most of those eight minutes, Grizzlies megastar Ja Morant was on the bench. Jaren Jackson Jr. also sat for more than four minutes. When the Nets had a minimum of three starters on the court throughout the aggressive portion of the fourth quarter, Memphis opted for two other bench lineups: Scotty Pippen Jr., John Konchar, Jake LaRavia, Santi Aldama and Jay. Huff, forming a unit with Jaylen Wells and Brandon Clarke in Konchar and Huff’s playing field, from the 9:20 mark to the 5:58 mark, a year in which the foul grew to double digits.
In this case, there were extenuating circumstances necessary to teach Taylor Jenkins to go deep on his bench in the final frame. The Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane had left the game in the third quarter with indirect pressure, and Marcus Canny had left the game in the first quarter with a sprained right ankle.
However, even before the 119-106 loss against Brooklyn, Memphis’ rotation had attracted some attention. Neither Jackson nor Jackson has logged a half-hour in a sport this season. Aldama is averaging 27.7 minutes, a team-high. In the Grizzlies’ first five games, there were only five instances where one of their players logged 30 minutes or more. Four of them came from their 126-123 loss against the Chicago Bulls on Monday; Morant ignored that game due to adequate thigh soreness and Konchar ignored it due to adequate frame soreness.
For context: The Yellow Form Warriors, who have taking its motto “strength in unity” to the maximum this seasonThey are the only alternative team that does not play with anyone for at least half an hour per sport. The total starters for the Milwaukee Dollars, unused York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets average at least 30; Denver’s team all average a minimum of 35. (The Nuggets, whose entire starting lineup has played in combination for 25.9 minutes depending on the sport, are an anomaly. Memphis only has three players (Aldama, Bane and Morant) averaging that many, and Aldama is the only person to log 35 minutes in a game).
Except for coming up short against Chicago, the Grizzlies have an 11- or 12-man rotation in all five games. It’s unclear how long Jenkins will persist with this style, and it’s also unclear when his best players’ minutes will increase. Jackson missed the entire preseason and the first two games of the regular season due to trauma to his left hamstring suffered early in training camp. Morant was listed as questionable for the Nets game. If Bane and/or Canny have to sit out for a moment, this could sometimes be more complicated: both are out for Thursday’s game against the Dollars, and Konchar is questionable with a serious quad contusion.
“There are a lot of things on the table,” Jenkins warned reporters Wednesday. “We have guys that get hurt in the middle of the game, so we have to adapt. We have guys in the starting lineup, coming in and out, all that, so that changes things. I mean, Trip’s only back three games. Ja was out the other night. Fortunately, he was able to go tonight, so every game presents a new opportunity to try to find chemistry.”
Last Friday, after Morant logged just 24 minutes in Memphis’ 128-108 loss to the Houston Rockets, Jenkins told reporters he would have played more if the game hadn’t gotten out of hand down the stretch. “We are working with him and the medical team on how we want to deploy him during this stretch right now,” Jenkins said, via Memphis Industrial Enchantment. “Obviously, he was out for part of the preseason, so he was able to develop his playing legs and proper conditioning.”
Morant only played in two of the Grizzlies’ five preseason games, and they began the season with a six-game nighttime stretch that ends Thursday. “Obviously, it’s a process,” Morant warned reporters in Houston. “You’ve got to be smart. You don’t want to throw me in there for 36 minutes. God willing, that’s fine, but you’ve got to be smart.”
After the loss to Brooklyn, all Morant said about his year of play was that he would “live with it,” according to the Memphis Industrial Charmment.
Memphis ranks second in the league in offensive generation (and first in offensive generation), so it’s unpredictable. It makes sense that he would need to evaluate players for shorter periods, especially early in the season, and it makes sense that he would want to experiment with other lineups. If the Grizzlies were 4-1 and barely managing everyone’s minutes, this would be nothing more than a compelling subplot at the start of the season. Maybe that’s all it should be, but they’re 2-3 and if they keep losing games, their loyalty to the long-term vision will be tested. Player stamina may be too, if it’s not already being examined.
