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The Grizzlies' 2017-18 season was not much to write home about. Their season actually got off to a pretty good start, as Mike Conley and Marc Gasol combined to lead them to a win over Golden State in their first matchup of the season.
Before Conley went down to a season-ending Achilles injury, they boasted of a 7-5 record, but their season degenerated from that point onward.
They finished the season with a 22-60 record, their lowest win total in quite a long time. They embraced the tank in mid-December once it became clear that they would have no chance of making the playoffs, and were rewarded with the 4th overall pick of the draft which they used to draft the best two-way big man available in the draft in Jaren Jackson Jr.
A couple of roster changes aside, however, their season ahead looks pretty much the same as it did a year ago. Read on to find what we can expect from them this season:
Offseason activity
The Grizzlies' best and most consistent player from last season is no longer with the roster. Tyreke Evans balled out in possibly the best form of his career for a 52-game season with Memphis last year, before being shut down for the season after going down injured in late January.
But they have made some shrewd moves in the offseason, offering restricted free agent Kyle Anderson a 4-year, $37 million contract that is about perfect for a player of his caliber. They also signed Omri Casspi on a 1-year, $2.8 million deal and traded for Garrett Temple from the Kings, surrounding Conley and Gasol with passable wing depth and shooters.
Rookies Jevon Carter and Jaren Jackson Jr look likely to be contributors right off the bat. While Jackson Jr's virtues are well-documented, Carter is one of the low-key second-round draft picks who have already flashed lockdown defensive potential in the Summer League.
All in all, the offseason could be graded at a solid B for the Grizzlies given their inclination to compete for a playoff berth during the 2018-19 season (their first-round draft pick is owed to the Celtics next year).
Weaknesses
The Tennessee-based franchise has its fair share of weak spots. In a league that is increasingly driven by dominant wing players, the Grizzlies' lack of a star at those positions will be a hindrance to their ability to match up with opposition superstars playing at the 2-guard or small forward position.
Their bench unit is shaping up to be among the shallowest in the Western Conference. Shelvin Mack was a desperation free agent signing in order to get insurance for Jevon Carter, in case the rookie is outmatched early on in his NBA career.
They also lack sharpshooters in the wing spots, a crucial component of the modern NBA roster. Specialists at putting the ball into the hoop from range come few and far between, which is why they traded for Garrett Temple.
The former Kings player, however, is about as unplayable a defender as any swingman currently in the league, and will not be garnering high minute totals.
Strengths
The obvious strengths of the roster stay rooted to their mainstays over the past decade - point guard Mike Conley and center Marc Gasol.
Both are All-Star caliber players who belong to the realms of the most underrated and overlooked stars in the league. Conley, in particular, has had a particularly rough deal of it considering he's never made an All-Star team due to being in a historically loaded Western Conference.
The Conley-Gasol pick-and-roll combo will probably be the bread and butter of the Grizzlies' offense, while the two are still the team's best defenders as well.
The likes of Kyle Anderson and Omri Casspi are shrewd professionals who can buy buckets for themselves, but also play within the confines of a system without demanding touches.
Jaren Jackson figures as a starter only at the power forward position as of now (and even that may depend on whether he outperforms JaMychal Green during training camp), but he can anchor the paint as a center as well while providing them a second option as a stretch 5 within the roster.
Opportunities and Threats
The Grizzlies have the opportunity to run a lineup that is physically the opposite of the Miami Heat's Death Lineup during the Big 3 era, but with essentially the same roles assigned to players from positions 1 through 5.
A lineup of Conley, Anderson, Casspi, Jackson Jr and Gasol would be full of above-average shooters who can defend multiple positions on the floor during stretches of a game.
If Jackson Jr, however, does not live up to his pre-draft billing, new head coach Bickerstaff will be torn between whether to develop him this season at the cost of a few wins, or whether to insert JaMychal Green into the starting lineup.
It will be interesting to see how the minutes are distributed between the Grizzlies' frontcourt players through the course of the season.
Conley has only played over 70 games of the season once in the past four years, and his health will directly affect their win-loss column.
Predictions
In a heavily loaded Western Conference, the Grizzlies currently project as the worst of the playoff bubble teams. Their starting lineup looks ready to compete - although not in the same fashion as the Zach Randolph Grit n Grind era - but their bench does not comprise of enough talent to hold the fort together on days when their starters don't click.
They have no incentive to tank, as previously indicated, which means that given the amount of top-tier talent on their squad, they will probably finish above the Kings, Suns and the Mavericks. Guaranteeing a finish any higher will need some evidence from their play early on in the season, for there are teams like the Nuggets, the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers who have explosive offensive options better than anything the Grizzlies have on offer.
The Clippers are in a similar state of transition, although they don't have the talent to do much better than their nemesis from early on this decade. An 11th-place finish looks like the likeliest outcome of their season at this point.
Guess the Lakers players!
