For a guy from a small town in South Carolina, Ja Morant certainly feels comfortable in the spotlight. They entertain a New York media crowd after the Memphis Grizzlies win at Madison Square Garden on February 2.
"Mike check, mic check - yo, yo, yo," said Morant, playing the microphone, as he sat down in his seat next to 22-year-old franchise cornerstone Jaren Jackson Jr. "It's the Unicorn, Man, and Ninja checking out here.
"You all ready?"
Ready or not, the Grizzlies are here, pushing their way into the contender conversation at least a few years ago, when many anticipated when Memphis's "Grit 'n Grind" chapter closed in 2019 and a rebuilding project began.
With Morantes and Grizzlies things often go fast.
That's when Morant zooms in from coast to coast and covers the length of the court in less than four seconds—as he did after grabbing a rebound from a shot Jackson dismissed, clutching. The Grizzlies' recent home win over those New York Knicks flew to the floor for a transition layup.
This is true in the bigger picture as well, as Memphis changed from Moribund to a play-in team with a massively long reversal during Morant's rookie year, making the playoffs during his sophomore campaign and making a significant move this season. When only the defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns have a better record.
The Grizzlies, a team created by 34-year-old vice president of basketball operations Zack Kleiman and coached by 37-year-old Taylor Jenkins, are cranking to open an expanding window. Memphis' roster doesn't have a player older than 28, and while the Grizzlies star is barely old enough to buy a bottle of Casamigos, Tequila Morant rejoices during her Instagram Live session on her way to the first, filmed on a private jet. Whispered. What would likely be multiple All-Star appearances.
With Morant in constant attack mode, the Grizzlies are a wildly entertaining team that often dominates opponents with athleticism, earning the league points in paint, rebounding and blocked shots. The Young Grizzlies, who host the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN and ESPN the Ape), also unofficially, shamelessly lead the league.
"We'll let everyone know we're here," Morant said.
The Grizzlies are moving from being regarded as a fun, young team to one with one goal. Some critics, including veterans from around the league, feel that self-confidence bordering on arrogance is premature for a group that has yet to win a playoff series. But the Grizzlies, as Morant so colorfully put it that night at Madison Square Garden, "are not smoking."
"You all watch and see, man," Jackson said. "You can compare it to something you'd like to compare back in the day, with young teams coming together that had a lot of talent and were really good.
"You'll see. Wait and see. It must be a lot of fun."
From grit 'n grind to the biggest show in the league
The Memphis basketball renaissance has its roots in the end of the grit n grind era. Despite the departures of Tony Allen and Zack Randolph, the Grizzlies still had Mike Connelly and Marc Gasol replaced in 2017-18. But Conley was limited to 12 games that season due to an Achilles injury, and without Conley, Memphis went downhill at 22–60, making it the No. 4 overall pick used to take Jackson.
The Grizzlies really started looking to the future at the 2019 trade deadline, when they sent Gasol to the Toronto Raptors. Although Conley finished the season 33–49, he went to the Utah Jazz in a deal struck just before the 2019 draft, returning several first-round picks.
By that time, Memphis had already got the lucky break any rebuilding team needed. Because the Grizzlies had given the Boston Celtics a first-round pick from a Jeff Green trade, they did not shorten the stretch in 2018-19, hoping to move their pick obligation out of the way. Instead, Memphis entered the lottery, jumping from eighth place to take Morant off the No. 2 pick.
Even with Morant and Jackson as promising young stars, the Grizzlies seemed headed for a multiyear rebuild. He operated that way as well, wisely using his cap space to pick up contracts from other teams (André Iguodala and Josh Jackson) in exchange for future picks and then second-year guard D'Anthony Melton, the favorite of statistical estimates. which have blossomed at a prime reserve in Memphis.
In addition to their picks in the lottery, the Grizzlies used additional picks to add to low-value probabilities later in the draft. Conley Trade parlay 2019 first round pick Memphis into Gonzaga's big man Brandon Clark. A year later, the Grizzlies were busy draft night, selecting TCU wing Desmond Bain to receive the 30th pick and taking on Jackson's former Michigan State teammate Xavier Tillman in the second round—both as second-round picks. in return.
Despite the trades, Memphis still has additional pickup arrivals. The Grizzlies could have three first-rounders this season if the Los Angeles Lakers' pick (currently No.
The choice of first-time head coach Jenkins, drawn out of relative obscurity on the Milwaukee Bucks' coaching staff, seemed like another sign that the Grizzlies were thinking more about growth than immediate success. Yet with Morant's premature production and a deep bench led by Melton, Tyce Jones and rookie Brandon Clark (added via Connelly trade), Memphis took the No. 8 seed heading in the bubble restart of the 2019-20 season. Organized.
The Grizzlies' hopes were hardly dampened by losing the play-in game. A year later, despite fears of regression, Memphis was back in the play-in tournament with young talent in the lead roles. Bain and Tillman both played for over 1,000 minutes as rookies, as did second-year players Morant and Clark.
This time around, Memphis defeated the Golden State Warriors at Bay to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. And when the Grizzlies lost to the Jazz in five games, their young core got a taste of the playoffs and set the stage.
The Brooks Mistake, and the Development of a Defensive Stopper
Dillon Brooks was contemplating his business on the Grizzlies' bench on December 14, 2018, when his team was seen playing the Miami Heat after he was sidelined with a knee injury, when FedExForum fans asked him to Told about the news that he saw while scrolling. Twitter feed. Brooks was traded.
That's what ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski had to say. The Sons thought he was heading to Phoenix in a three-team deal. So did the Washington Wizards, who agreed to send Kelly Aubrey Jr. to Memphis and Austin Rivers to Phoenix to acquire Trevor Ariza.
One huge problem: The Grizzlies didn't agree to trade that Brooks.
The Grizzlies thought they were taking on Marshon Brooks, a travelman's guard who has played in China since that season. Dillon Brooks, then in a promising second round in his second season, was prominently involved in the franchise's long-term plans. The miscommunication occurred because then-Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace contacted the Wizards' front office, and not directly with the Sons.
The deal was closed—a strange, comical footnote in the rebuilding of Memphis.
As the Grizzlies expected, Brooks has become an important part of their origins. He has averaged 16.8 points per game over the past three seasons and has emerged as one of the league's most tenacious on-ball defenders. Brooks' snarling swagger prompted teammates to nickname him The Villain. Brooks, who signed a three-year, $35 million extension in 2020, missed a lot this season due to wrist and knee injuries, recently returning after an 11-week absence. He was relegated to the starting lineup and stats to play a key role in the playoff run, particularly as the Moth who troubled the opponent's leading scorer.
"We know how important he is to us," Jenkins said.
The Grizzlies always knew, no matter what their business partners believed.
Will the youth be served? Why Memphis is grappling with history
Despite the team's 2021 playoff run, hopes for Memphis to enter this season were modest. After all, Memphis' big move last summer was yet another forward-looking business: sending center Steven Adams and starting center Jonas Valencianus to the New Orleans Pelicans for extra pay. The Grizzlies moved up from the 17th pick to 10th, leading Stanford to Ziyer Williams, and added a secure 2021 first-round pick from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Memphis had a 41.5 win over-under the line at Caesars Sportsbook, placing them eighth in the West. The Grizzlies were on that .500 pace, with a 9-10 record when Morant went down with a knee sprain, a setback after a strong start to the season.
Presumably, Memphis rode strong defense, depth and some good luck, with the opponent shooting a 10-2 record without Morant - only to lose immediately in his return.
It didn't take long for Morant to remind everyone how good the Grizzlies can be with him. Just before New Year's Day, Memphis broke a pair of statement victories, beating the Suns 114–113 and the Lakers 104–99, to kickstart an 11-game winning streak that included a home win over the Warriors. Was.
Around that point, the Grizzlies changed from good storytelling to West elite.
It's certainly unusual for a youth team like Memphis—the league's fourth-youngest team when played by the minutes this season—to score a deep playoff run. Of the 59 teams in NBA history whose average weighted age was less than 25 at the end of the season, only six have reached the playoffs (a group that already includes the previous season's Memphis team).
This season, there are five youth teams, including the Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are both on track to make the playoffs. The other three - Detroit, Orlando and Houston - have the worst records in the league.
Of that group of playoff teams, only the 2011 Oklahoma City Thunder — which overtook Memphis in a seven-game matchup in the second round — won a series. There is certainly reason to believe that grizzlies can do better. Only one of the first-round losers (the 2009 Portland Trail Blazers) had a home-court advantage in that series, as Memphis certainly would.
Although inexperience increases the chances of getting upset in the first round, performance matters more. And the Grizzlies have played every which way, like a contender.