Jaren Jackson Jr. stood against a Memphis Grizzlies backdrop and surveyed everything unfolding in front of him at the team’s practice facility on the eve of the season opener.
Immediately in front of Jackson were dozens of media members and cameras ready to capture his every word. A bit farther into the distance were teammates, coaches and basketball staffers wrapping up workouts and preparing for a team meeting and video session.
As the Grizzlies were collectively pivoting from the realization that starting center Steven Adams will be shut down for season-ending knee surgery, Jackson was in a real-time juggling act.
On one hand, the longest-tenured member of the Grizzlies expressed sympathy and disappointment for losing Adams from the lineup just days before the start of the season. On the other hand, Jackson was first to step up and carry the burden of increased responsibilities for salvaging heightened expectations entering this bounce-back season for the Grizzlies.
Yet in a moment of ultimate transparency, even the most optimistic of Grizzlies players stopped short of delivering any promises when asked how this initial transition will play out.
“We’ll see,” Jackson responded. “Ask me (again) in five games.”
The Grizzlies by then will have forged through the first eight days of their schedule, which starts with Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the Pelicans at FedExForum. By then, Memphis will have already endured an opening stretch of four games in six nights that also includes Friday’s visit from Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and the defending champion Nuggets.
Additionally, by then, the Grizzlies will have embarked on the opening stop of their first extended road trip of the season for a game in Utah followed by two in Portland.
That’s a lot to face in five games. But this team has stared down obstacles before and has not only survived but thrived in the eye of challenges and adversity.
In addition to the absence of Adams, the Grizzlies will be without suspended superstar point guard Ja Morant for the season’s first 25 as well reserve forward Brandon Clarke for much – if not all – of the season as he recovers from Achilles surgery.
Under normal circumstances, Adams, Morant and Clarke represent two starters and three of coach Taylor Jenkins’ top eight rotation players. Under current conditions, their absences represent enormous opportunities for others on the team to step into the void and push ahead.
The Grizzlies’ depth under Jenkins has delivered before.
There was the 18-11 record down the stretch last season after Adams first suffered the right knee injury in January that cost him the rest of that season and now requires surgery.
There was the 20-5 stretch the Grizzlies went on two seasons ago in the games Morant missed to deal with various nagging injuries.
In both seasons, the Grizzlies finished with more than 50 victories and the second-best record in the Western Conference. On each occasion, they found a way for younger wing players and veteran backups to galvanize the team and press on to the postseason.
Ultimately, in each of the past two playoffs, missing a marquee player or two caught up to the Grizzlies and sent them into the offseason wondering what might have been if healthy.
But that’s not the concern right now. Memphis doesn’t have to worry about how they stack up in the playoffs for another five months. The priority now is to get through the first five games, sort through necessary rotation or roster adjustments and steadily find their balance.
“But obviously, we also have to be realistic,” Jenkins said of the path ahead. “Steven unlocked so much for us offensively and defensively, with rebounding and physicality. It’s on everyone to step it up, how we coach the team in those directions. We’ve got a lot of strengths in this group, a lot of competitors that are going to lay it on the line every single day. Knowing on the front end, we’re going to be able to navigate it because we’ve got a deep roster and we’ve got a committed roster. Now the games will reveal where we’ve got to coach better.”
The Grizzlies already addressed Morant’s absence by adding veteran guards Marcus Smart and Derrick Rose to bolster the backcourt, especially through the season’s first two months.
And although no outside players were added to the frontcourt, the Grizzlies took steps recently to extend contract options on young bigs in Xavier Tillman and Santi Aldama. They also converted second-year center Kenny Lofton Jr. from a two-way developmental deal to a standard NBA contract at the end of last season.
However, the Grizzlies suffered a minor blow Tuesday when the team announced that Aldama will miss Wednesday’s opener after spraining an ankle in practice. Aldama is considered day-to-day and will be reevaluated prior to Friday’s game against the Nuggets.
Tillman has started 43 games the past two seasons, including 12 in the playoffs. That’s most likely where the Grizzlies will again start their search for answers at center entering the season. The fourth-year center was in the starting lineup for Friday’s preseason finale against the Bucks while Adams was away from the team having the knee evaluated before opting for surgery.
Beyond that, Jenkins said he remains in talks with team president and general manager Zach Kleiman regarding potential outside targets through trades or currently unsigned free agents.
“There’s more to come for sure,” Jenkins admitted. “We’re having great dialogues with that. So, we’ll sit down and process where this team is and how we can best help moving forward.”
Directly ahead is a set of games against two of the West’s bigger and more physical teams.
The combination of power forward Zion Williamson and center Jonas Valanciunas are relentless in the paint for the Pelicans, who have split their past 12 meetings with the Grizzlies dating to the 2020 season. Two days later come Jokic and the Nuggets, who held off the Grizzlies for the best record in the conference last season by just two games.
Smart said the Grizzlies carried a “professional” mindset into practices this week as they tweaked and adjusted on the fly for the start of the season. Having made repeated trips to the conference finals and one stop in the NBA Finals while with Boston, Smart said adversity always tends to strike just when a contending team is headed for a breakthrough.
“Bad things happen to those on track to make a good run and do something special,” Smart said. “That’s part of basketball and just part of life. But that’s only going to continue to make us stronger and better. And I definitely feel that here, and I see it in these guys.”
Jackson saw the same thing when he scanned the practice facility the other day.
“Optimism is always up,” Jackson reiterated. “Keep the vibes up, keep the energy up. You never let the spirit go down for any reason. Injuries happen. I’ve had some myself. Bringing the energy down is worse. And you don’t want to do that.”
This team will have to regroup in a hurry.
But they refuse to be rattled.