MEMPHIS – As the Grizzlies put the final touches on what teammates and coaches would later refer to as a statement win, catalyst Jaren Jackson Jr. clinched his fists, flexed his arms and let loose a primal roar toward celebrating fans at FedExForum.
It was a rush of raw emotion rarely shown by the longest tenured player on the Grizzlies’ roster.
“We got the win,” Jackson acknowledged of finally defeating the nemesis Houston Rockets on Thursday after three previous attempts this season fell frustratingly short. “We hadn’t beaten them (before). We’re at home. We’re on TNT (national television). I mean, you want to win those. Whenever it comes down to the wire like that, and it’s finally over, I definitely let whatever I was feeling at that moment just take over.”
The Grizzlies (32-16) can enter the weekend with a sense of relief and reassurance.
Jackson’s actions and words articulated in the aftermath of Thursday’s 120-119 victory over the Rockets (32-15) just how much his team collectively exhaled all that was built up inside. The Grizzlies notched a much-needed win over a team now only a half-game ahead of them in second place in the Western Conference standings.
But just as importantly, Memphis was also able to vanquish that suffocating feeling they experienced earlier in the week following a deflating 37-point road loss to the Knicks. Despite how impressive the Grizzlies’ overall record is, they were only 2-8 against the two teams immediately in front of them and the three teams directly behind them in the West.
In other words, wins against top-tier competition have been hard to come by for the Grizzlies. For them to reach their ultimate goal of competing for an NBA title and breaking through in the West, they need to prove they can consistently beat upper-echelon opponents.
What this week revealed was more evidence of some potential pitfalls that could derail Memphis as well as the enormous potential the team exudes when many of its pieces come together. The tests only intensify over the final months of the regular season. According to NBA metrics, the Grizzlies face the third-toughest remaining schedule heading down the stretch.
Somewhere between Monday’s meltdown in New York and Thursday’s home breakthrough against Houston is a Grizzlies team seeking to minimize the extremes to which it is capable of performing on a given night. Jackson’s celebratory, emotional outburst reflects that mission.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins admits his team remains a work in progress in its quest for consistency. Jenkins also trusts the resolve the Grizzlies have shown in response to adversity. He pointed to the work they put in to address turnover issues and the lack of energy and execution they showed from the outset against the Knicks.
“I’m just glad our guys progressed,” Jenkins said. “There was great spirit coming out of the Knicks game when we definitely didn’t have our best outing by any stretch of the imagination. We had a great day of practice this week, just focusing on us. We came in and set a tone for whatever it was going to take (to respond). It’s hard to have a perfect game. Credit to the guys to have that resilience. This week tested some things we’ve definitely got to get better at.”
Jenkins and his coaching staff refer to this stage of the season as “will or won’t” time.
The notion is the Grizzlies have two paths they can take as they approach their postseason push. Either they will make the adjustments and show the consistent effort to maintain the standards they set as a top-five team in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Or, they won’t play to those expectations, falter down the stretch and fall short of their goals. For now, the Grizzlies are taking the season in stages. This next stretch requires pushing through distractions with games looming Sunday at Milwaukee, Monday at home against San Antonio and Wednesday in Toronto ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
The Grizzlies reportedly have been involved in various trade discussions in recent weeks, and have been one of the league’s more active teams at the trade deadline the past three seasons. Overall, Memphis has six games remaining before the mid-February All-Star break. Four of those six contests are on the road, and five are against teams in the playoff or play-in tournament mix.
“We’ve talked as a team about how we want to approach this next stretch of games going into the break, and you definitely want to be playing your best ball,” Grizzlies swingman Luke Kennard said. “We know the things we’ve been working on to get better. We know we have to protect the basketball, we know we have to play better against the better teams. We go on the road a little bit here before the break, so we have some opportunities there before the break.”
The Grizzlies are also coping with attrition in the rotation as players deal with injuries and recovery. Star point guard Ja Morant, who has missed 20 games this season, sat out Thursday with shoulder soreness and is considered day-to-day. Team officials also revealed this week that guard Vince Williams Jr. will require more time than initially projected to return from a grade-three ankle sprain he sustained in November. Williams now has a week-to-week designation.
Jackson, however, has been one of the constants the Grizzlies have relied on to keep them positioned among the West’s top three teams. In the midst of a career season in statistical production and durability, Jackson was rewarded Thursday with his second NBA All-Star nod.
Perhaps that contributed to the magnitude of the moment during an emotional week. Actually, it’s been a month full of highs, lows and accolades for Jackson.
He was awarded Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for December. Last week, he was named Western Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his career. This week, the seventh-year power forward garnered his second All-Star selection the same night he sank two free throws to seal the win over a foe that had given the Grizzlies fits all season.
Jackson was asked could the past 30 days have gone any better, all things considering?
“In a month?” pondered Jackson, who is averaging 22.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals in 46 games this season. “No, it can’t get any better than this, for sure.”
At least not until Jackson and the Grizzlies conquer the next obstacle in their path.