PHILADELPHIA – The challenges literally don’t get much bigger than the ones facing the Grizzlies in their first two games back from the All-Star break this week.
On Thursday, Joel Embiid and the Sixers await in Philadelphia. The Grizzlies then return home for Saturday’s showdown with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. That’s two matchups with the NBA’s two most dominant centers driving their teams toward championship contention.
In other words, the Grizzlies have no intentions to ease their way into the season’s stretch run.
The schedule simply won’t allow it as they prepare for a rapid run of 25 games over the next six weeks, including eight of their next 12 contests on the road. Fresh off their six-day break, the Grizzlies returned to practice Wednesday to gear up for the grind.
“I think everyone is refreshed, recharged and renewed,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said ahead of the team’s flight to Philadelphia. “We had a good talk about what we want to accomplish these last 25 games, finding the best version of ourselves. We’ve had our good moments in the past, and our not-so-good moments. It’s been a learning opportunity. Who knows what the results will be, but we’ve got to go out and try to control things on our terms.”
Fittingly, the Grizzlies search for the best version of themselves at this point starts on the road. In Memphis, the Grizzlies have built the league’s second-best home record at 24-5. But they’ve been wildly inconsistent on the road, where they entered the break having lost seven in a row.
Reversing that trend will be essential if Memphis (35-22) aims to maintain or improve its standing in the Western Conference, where it remains second overall behind Denver. The Grizzlies will start to apply corrective measures with two key players out of the mix.
Starting center Steven Adams participated in some light practice work Wednesday but is ruled out of Thursday’s game as he continues to recover from a right knee sprain. Adams has missed the past month since he injured the knee in a Jan. 22 loss in Phoenix. The Grizzlies have gone 4-8 in the 12 games without their leading rebounder, screen setter and secondary facilitator.
Jenkins said Wednesday that Adams began doing individual drills before the All-Star break and spent the past week further progressing in his rehab. The team initially indicated Adams would be out 3-to-5 weeks, and Jenkins said an update on Adams’ status should come later this week.
The Grizzlies will also be without shooting guard Luke Kennard, who is listed as out for Thursday’s game with a non-COVID illness. Kennard has played two games with Memphis since he was acquired at the Feb. 9 trade deadline from the Clippers to bolster the 3-point shooting.
Reintegrating Adams when healthy and integrating Kennard are at the forefront of the priorities as the Grizzlies make their playoff push in a revamped and hotly contested West. But the first day back to work was also about shaking off the rust and re-embracing the road ahead.
Team catalysts Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. both appreciated their time in Salt Lake City, where they combined for 12 points and numerous highlight dunks in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. But after becoming the first set of teammates to represent the Grizzlies at the same All-Star game, both Jackson and Morant were relieved to be back in Memphis to regroup.
“It was great,” Jackson said of returning to practice. “I feel more at ease here anyway. It was good to see everybody and get back to work. I’m more locked in than ever, for real.”
With Adams still sidelined, the Grizzlies need a “locked in” Jackson, who leads the NBA in blocks and is a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year. Keeping Jackson out of foul trouble and available would boost efforts in containing Embiid on Thursday and Jokic on Saturday.
In their previous matchup on Dec. 2, Jackson had 22 points and four of the team’s season-high 11 blocks in a 117-109 home win over the Sixers. Adams contributed 16 rebounds as he and Jackson defended Embiid, who still ended up with 35 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
However, in their first matchup with Denver on Dec. 20, there were very few answers for the Nuggets. Denver raced out to a 20-point lead, and got 13 points, 13 assists and 13 rebounds from the two-time reigning league MVP in Jokic on the way to a 105-91 Nuggets win.
The Grizzlies are well aware of the tall tasks currently at hand. Embiid is second in the NBA in scoring averaging more than 33 points and 10 rebounds a game. Meanwhile, Jokic is averaging a triple-double on the season while Denver maintains its grip on the top spot in the West.
“Two big challenges coming out of the break,” Jenkins confirmed. “We’re going to have to get creative with our schemes and matchups for sure. Jokic is a two-time MVP and Embiid has been in that conversation. We’re going to have our hands full. They’re two of best teams in the league for a reason.”
Jenkins then quickly pointed out that Memphis only must face one at a time. That’s the team’s approach with every challenge amid the sprint to the regular-season finish.
“It’s all about getting back here, locking in for this last stretch and finishing strong,” Morant insisted. “The mindset . . . everyone knows what’s at stake. Everybody knows it’s almost playoff time. Everybody knows some games are must-wins, and it ramps up. We’ve got the playoffs to make. We don’t have just 25 games left. We want to play way more than that.”
For the Grizzlies, make it 25 games – and counting.