The Memphis Grizzlies lost a basketball game they shouldn’t have Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets.
So the fact that their Head Coach Taylor Jenkins was frustrated shouldn’t be surprising. It was nice, however, to see him look inward for ways to try to fix it.
It should also not shock anyone that the team’s star, Ja Morant, was also not happy after the loss. However, the reasons for the boiling over of emotion perhaps should raise some eyebrows.
It isn’t the short answers — that isn’t exclusive to Morant as a basketball player speaking to media. And it isn’t in Ja seemingly addressing fan criticisms— Morant is famously (maybe infamously?) online. So him seeing upset Grizzlies supporters and even reacting either in person or on social media perhaps should be expected.
It’s the context beyond the content that sounds alarms. Because as the Memphis Grizzlies continue to zig while the rest of the NBA zags, they risk alienating their players and fan base.
Reasons for mounting Memphis malice
Memphis’ installation of a new offense that prioritizes movement and spacing has been a storyline to follow so far this season.
It’s come with mixed reviews— more slashing and assists from crisp passes being paired with increased turnovers and concerns about minute distribution. And the Grizzlies continue to have issues with injury management. Some issues are beyond their control. Marcus Smart and Desmond Bane going down in-game is not the organization’s fault.
But the fact that Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. — arguably Memphis’ two-best players — have yet to play more than 30 minutes in a game this season is an organizational decision. One that maybe, just maybe, should be revisited.
It’s easy to blame Taylor Jenkins for these choices schematically and rotationally. He is, after all, the public face of the organization from a front office staff perspective. We see Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman sparingly— Jenkins is out front daily. And as the coach he should theoretically be the person pulling these rotational strings.
But over the years, we haven’t heard any criticism (public of “via sources”) of Jenkins and frustration with how he deploys the roster from above. Is Memphis that elite at preventing leaks? Perhaps— they’re notoriously quiet/conspicuous in that department from a media perspective. It also almost surely is connected to the fact that these choices being made by Jenkins are either cleared by or developed alongside, Grizzlies brass.
It’s also easy to question the Grizzlies training staff— for years now it seems Memphis has had a rotating door of players in and out. One can understand Grizzlies fans looking at teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder — who were extraordinarily healthy last season — and wondering what’s in the (delicious) water in Memphis.
However, the Grizzlies just changed head athletic trainers (along with other coaching personnel) this year, and over the last couple of seasons adjusted their training partners overall. This season’s health struggles — assuming Smart and Bane miss some time, that will make seven projected rotation players missing games already — are not connected to last year’s as much as one may think.
So who should get the “blame”?
It is important to point out it is literally Halloween.
The NBA season has just begun, and the Memphis Grizzlies got the short end of the scheduling stick early on. Tonight Memphis plays the Milwaukee Bucks in their sixth game of the season— a campaign that just started for the Grizzlies Wednesday, October 23rd. So do the quick math— nine days, six games.
That’s a lot.
Especially for a team with an almost entirely new assistant coaching staff, enduring numerous injuries, and installing new offensive schemes. It isn’t excuses— it is context. A month from now Memphis may well right the ship.
But that isn’t the current ‘”vibe”— and for a team who used to have vibes said to be “immaculate”, that is concerning.
Ja Morant’s psyche doesn’t necessarily reflect that of his teammates. But he is the organization’s leader in terms of the most marketable piece of the puzzle. Fans don’t buy Taylor Jenkins sneakers. They’re not clamoring to watch Zach Kleiman sit in a press box. If Morant isn’t happy, the fans aren’t happy.
And while the comments from Ja may seem that anger is with overly online fans mad at early-season struggles, the layers that could be in this frustration parfait might signal a larger issue. One that goes beyond just the current iteration of the roster…and may spark bigger problems and changes down the road.
A rising tide to watch
No one likes to lose. And winning theoretically “fixes” everything. But this Memphis franchise has taken pride in doing things their way. The seeming lack of flexibility to adapt in short-term spurts is the catalyst for much of the current situation. Overcompensating and limiting the minutes of key players doesn’t help the here-and-now. Not actively communicating expectations for playing time and rotations consistently creates chaos.
In the absence of a message — or even perceived leadership — misinformation and frustration can reign supreme. Coaches can become pariahs. Front offices can be called inept. And star players can ask out of a seemingly sinking ship. While the Grizzlies are nowhere near there yet, a very important season for Memphis is off to an uneven start, to say the least.
Winnable games are being lost. Second-half collapses are negating first-half dominance. All the while, the team’s best player is making statements to the media that could be construed as addressing fans in a confrontational light. That almost certainly is not the case — the frustration likely goes beyond just some posts on social media — but perception is reality. Distractions are always unwelcome and can become cancerous if not addressed.
These tensions are just whispers for now. But the funny thing about whispers is they tend to get louder if not heard.
How the Memphis Grizzlies do just that matters more than a 2-3 early season record.
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