Memphis Grizzlies 2024-25 season preview: Ja Morant and the most intriguing contender

The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We present the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy predictions for all 30 teams. Enjoy!

GRIZZLIE Z MEMPHIS

End of year 2023–24

Off-season moves

• Enrichment: Zach Edey, Jaylen Wells, Cam Spencer and Jay Huff

• Subtraction: Ziaire Williams, Trey Jemison, Derrick Rose, Jordan Goodwin, Timmy Allen, Zavier Simpson, Jack White, Lamar Stevens, Yuta Watanabe (o cholera, Grizzlies mieli so many players last season)

• Complete squad

The big question: Can they stay healthy and find the right balance?

Memphis always started last season with the 8-ball, and Ja Morant started at 8. Suspension for 25 games. However, the project of staying afloat until the superstar returned quickly turned into the Grizzlies drowning.

Starting with the announcement just before the premiere that Steven Adams would miss the entire season, virtually every critical Memphian has missed an extended period of time. As Zach Kram of The Ringer notes, the Grizzlies used more players last year I more starting lineups than any team in NBA history – the result of missing 20 players is absurd 577 total games.

By the time Morant made his debut, Memphis was already 6-19. When he tore the labrum in his right shoulder after nine games, Grizz could only finish the schedule and wait until next year.

For that was silver cladding. Desmond Bane, called upon to serve as the primary option in Morant's absence, averaged a career-high 23.7 points and 5.5 assists per game, and maintained an above-average shooting percentage with his by far highest usage rate as a pro. Jaren Jackson Jr. helped coach Taylor Jenkins somehow lead his MASH unit to a near-top-10 defense. And while he didn't surf the usage efficiency curve as skillfully as Bane, Jackson also scored and facilitated career-best clips in a role that required him to do his own cooking; almost Last season, 41% of his baskets were made unassisted after Morant went down during the season JJJ was ranked fourth behind Joel Embiid, Luka Dončić and Jalen Brunson in the NBA in usage rate.

Memphis' lineup change brought in Vince Williams Jr., a tenacious 6-foot-10 shortstop with a 6-foot-11 wingspan who showed flashes as a complementary scorer and playmaker. It gave GG Jackson II, the NBA's youngest player, over 1,200 minutes of reps, suggesting his game translates to the NBA level – even if he's best suited to a backup role at this stage. This gave Scotty Pippen Jr. a chance to prove he can make an impact as a backup point guard covering defense and setting the table; he made the most of it, posting strong performances in the summer league and preseason to earn a guaranteed contract.

It also gave the Grizzlies the No. 9 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft – a chance to add something important to a 50-win team. They took the biggest piece on the board: 7-foot-4, 305-pound Purdue center Zach Edey, the kind of attacking defenseman, dominant offensive rebounder and massive low-blocking target who could transform Memphis' offense:

The theory of the case is clear: cure injured players; connect them with young guys; add giant; resume oh that trick. But it's not as simple as “rebirthing yourself back to where you were before the Self was suspended.”

Is Edey ready to start immediately as a mid laner for a Championship contender? How quickly can JJJ acclimate to his new frontcourt partner and can he return to his Defensive Player of the Year level of efficiency? Is Brandon Clarke, who played just six games last season after rupturing his Achilles tendon, ready to play like a top sub again?

How does Memphis integrate Smart and Kennard, neither of whom has played much with Morant, now that they are all available? (I also know Smart is a “stretch-6,” but… is he basically a 6-foot-3 forward now?). How crowded will the half-court offense be with shaky scorers Morant, Smart and JJJ (only 32.6% from deep the last four seasons) sharing the court with Edey? And if Jenkins downsizes to be able to shoot more on the floor, a Morant-Bane-Kennard three-guard lineup crushed opponents 91 points in 102 minutes two seasons ago – how can the Grizz avoid getting cut up on the perimeter and pounding the boards?

Answering these questions requires inviting everyone to the field… and here again, Memphis is off to a rocky start. Williams and Jackson will both miss the beginning of the season. JJJ missed the preseason with a strained hamstring. And while Morant's pre-season launch provided some exciting reminders…

… also retired earlier after spraining his ankle and has since been sidelined with a “mild sprain”.

Both Morant and Jackson Jr. are expected to be they will be ready for the season opener; this is of course good. These revitalized Grizzlies have plenty of potential answers to the questions they will face in the loaded West. But it will take all hands on deck to find them.

Best case scenario

The return of Morant and the arrival of Edey turned the team that finished last in the NBA with points last season back to the one that led league the previous four campaigns. The development of self-creation that Bane and JJJ have shown makes them even more dangerous when they don't have to do as much with their Self back. The returns of Smart, Kennard, Clarke and John Konchar give the Grizzlies a full complement of capable veterans to rely on; the continued development of young players Williams, Jackson, Pippen, Santi Aldam and Jake LaRavia gives Jenkins fresh strength to deploy in a faster attack. It all adds up to top-10 finishes on both ends of the court, over 50 wins and a strong postseason run – the Grizz picking up right where they left off when everything went wrong.

If everything falls apart

The disparate elements never quite come together. The new offensive scheme is working for neither fish nor fowl, with the idea of ​​a more fluid and decentralized attack minimizing Morant's effectiveness in dominating the ball, and the higher octane ethos making it difficult for the massive Edey to play down low. With so many intriguing pieces at play, Jenkins struggles to find consistent, two-way lineups with enough shooting, defensive steel at the point of attack and rebounding to compete with the monsters in the West. Morant, Bane and/or Jackson miss a long stretch and suddenly Memphis looks much thinner than we thought. The Grizz fail to make the play-in, fail to make the postseason, and face even bigger questions in the summer.

Spin fantasy

The Grizzlies are loaded with fantasy talent, starting with Jackson. JJJ is one of the more reliable players on defense, and his contributions to scoring and three-pointers make him a top-shelf third-round pick. Bane ranks higher than Morant in my rankings, but Morant's ADP is about six spots better than Bane's. Bane gives me an advantage in category leagues because he is more efficient and gives up the ball less often. Morant is better suited to point leagues like Paolo Banchero.

I drafted Edey more aggressively as a late round pick. Edey has the tools to be a good fantasy player – his blocking, rebounding, and shooting efficiency can immediately help fantasy managers. Even if he plays 20-25 minutes a day, his profile indicates a player who will impact the game in limited minutes. Edey will go in the ninth round, but I would spend all the way to the eighth if you sense he won't be available. — And Tytus

2024–25 schedule

I've been a Grizzlies supporter for a long time… and that won't change here! A 21-win jump sounds ridiculous, but the last two mostly healthy versions of this team we saw won 56 and 51 games, and this one hook be deeper than these. Put this 47.5 on the table; Super Grizz will soon do this by jumping off the ladder and splashing it into oblivion.