5 reasons the Memphis Grizzlies can still win without Mike Conley

The Memphis Grizzlies undoubtedly will take a huge hit with the loss of Mike Conley to a back injury. The Grizzlies’ ship is rocky, but it is not sinking.

The Memphis Grizzlies received a major punch to the gut Tuesday when it was announced Mike Conley would be out indefinitely after fracturing a bone in his lower back during Monday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

The Grizzlies gave Conley the richest contract in NBA history this summer. And, believe it or not, he was living up to those lofty standards. He was averaging a career-high 19.2 points per game and a team-best 5.7 assists while shooting 46.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Conley has knocked on the door of being an All-Star for some time now, and it seemed like this year he was going to break through a crowded point guard class in the Western Conference. He was leading the Grizzlies to a winning record, and the grit-and-grind was still present with new coach David Fizdale still trying to push the pace.

Conley was as much the heartbeat of that as anything else as the point guard. The early numbers suggest that too:

There is very real reason for concern with the Grizzlies for the next 6-8 weeks that Conley will be out at a minimum. The next 20-plus games are going to be a long slog for the Grizzlies.

But there is still hope. Memphis has survived injuries before — namely last year when Conley missed the final two months of the season and the Grizzlies still made the playoffs. There is something about this team and organization now; they just find ways to win.

The road will undoubtedly be tougher without Conley there. The numbers above from Beale Street Bears suggest the Grizzlies will have to make some adjustments and the Grizzlies themselves do not have great point guard depth.

But there is still hope for Memphis. They may not continue their current pace — the team is 11-7 currently — but the Grizzlies can still stay in the playoff hunt as the team waits on Conley.

5) Marc Gasol

The first place to start with the Memphis Grizzlies is Marc Gasol. He does a lot of good things for the Grizzlies and is actually the team’s All-Star. Conley may have been well on his way to making his first All-Star team, but Gasol is still the biggest rock in the middle for the Grizzlies. He can still make things go.

Gasol is averaging 18.0 points per game this season. The Grizzlies have moved him further away from the basket than ever before as Conley has taken primacy in the new offense. He is averaging a career-high 3.5 3-point field goal attempts per game, where he never averaged more than one in his career previous.

Memphis is going to to have to refigure its offense around Marc Gasol, and the Spaniard is more than capable of becoming that fulcrum.

Expect for his scoring to get above 20 points per game, for his assists to go up and for his 3-point attempts to go down. Memphis will need Gasol to do everything for the team now if they still want to win consistently.

The question will be whether or not the Grizzlies get enough shooting or make enough shots to free up that space in the paint and on the block.