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NBA Season Preview 2019-20: The 5 biggest questions for the Memphis Grizzlies

By Ian Levy

MEMPHIS, TN - OCTOBER 6: Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on before the game against the Maccabi Haifa during the preseason on October 6, 2019 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - OCTOBER 6: Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on before the game against the Maccabi Haifa during the preseason on October 6, 2019 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Grizzlies are handing the reins to Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson this season. Here are the biggest question the youthful Grizzlies will have to answer.

1. Who leads the Grizzlies in scoring this season?

Jaren Jackson Jr. All due respect to the returning high-scorer, Jonas Valanciunas, and the 19.9 he put up per game for Memphis after coming over in the Marc Gasol trade, but this is Jackson’s team and I think the Grizzlies will go to work establishing that. Valanciunas was an absolute delight but he only appeared in 19 games for Memphis and played just 28 minutes with Jackson.

Jackson is the Grizzlies’ most talented offensive player and he should get far more opportunities than the 10.2 field goal attempts per game he saw last season. While Ja Morant will put up plenty of shots as the primary ball-handler, he’s also a willing passer and Jackson will be far more efficient with his scoring opportunities than Morant. There’s no one else on this roster to threaten the offensive hierarchy and in a clear rebuilding situation, there’s no reason for the Grizzlies to try and find one.

2. Where does Ja Morant finish in the Rookie of the Year voting?

A distant second to Zion Williamson. Morant is going to put up some big numbers this year and he’s going to have more than his share of highlight dunks and assists. But Zion is just on a different level. If the preseason is any indication, Zion is going to be leading a fringe playoff team in scoring with an absurd true shooting percentage. Morant is the kind of player whose profile normally lends itself to Rookie of the Year attention, he just happened to land in a rookie class where the best player will also be the most exciting.

3. Describe the Grizzlies wings — Bruno Caboclo, Grayson Allen, Dillon Brooks, Solomon Hill, Kyle Anderson, Jae Crowder, Marko Guduric — as classic barbecue sides? Who is the coleslaw? Who is the yams? Who is the cornbread?

Bruno Caboclo is two bags of Tostito’s scoops.

Grayson Allen is coleslaw, but like a weird international version where they’re trying to do wholesome American food and something is lost in translation. It’s just mayonnaise and shredded iceberg lettuce.

Dillon Brooks is the beans. The trick is to make sure there’s not too much and you have enough other things on your plate.

Solomon Hill is a weird three-bean salad your aunt brought that makes it through the whole meal untouched.

Kyle Anderson is cornbread. No jalapenos. No cheddar. Nothing fancy. Just a stick-to-your-ribs brick of simple carbs perfect for sopping up everyone else’s sauce.

Jae Crowder is the mac and cheese. It looks so good on the buffet line but you always end up taking more than you should and regretting it later.

Marko Guduric is the red-and-white checkered table cloth. Without him, it’s just a mess.

4. What does success look like for the Grizzlies this season?

It looks like a 32-19 lead at the end of the first quarter, of a late January game against the Denver Nuggets. Jaren Jackson is well on his way to a double-double and has completely flummoxed Nikola Jokic with his length, tipping away several passes there were on their way to being highlight assists. Ja Morant has already drilled a pair of pull-up 3-pointers and poked the ball away from Jamal Murray for a windmill finish on a one-man fastbreak. Brandon Clarke has a pair of blocks, Caboclo hit a corner 3 and Tyus Jones hasn’t turned the ball over in three weeks. For a few minutes, you can see what the future of the Grizzlies looks like — a suffocating and youthful defense standing core-to-core with the best the NBA has to offer.

They end up losing this game by double-digits but the point is just taking these moments and continuing to string them together more and more often until something magical happens.

Next. Meet the 2019 NBA 25-under-25. dark

5. The Grizzlies will win _____ games compared to last year.

The Grizzlies win three fewer games which, honestly, isn’t as much of a regression as it sounds. The Grizzlies were so transparently headed for a rebuild last season that it’s easy to forget how long it took them to actually get started. They got 53 games from Marc Gasol last season and 70 from Mike Conley, finishing with 33 wins. They’ve swapped out some of the veteran role players from the beginning of last season for a slightly more youthful set — Jones, Crowder, Valanciunas — that fits better. If they had traded Gasol and Conley at the beginning of last season, they would have been closer to a 25-win team. This year, I think they’re headed for 30.