Fansided

NBA Season Preview 2018-19: Every team’s biggest question

By Ben Ladner

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 16: Markelle Fultz #20 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during the game against the Miami Heat in Game Two of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 16, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 16: Markelle Fultz #20 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during the game against the Miami Heat in Game Two of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 16, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
15 of 30
Next
Grizzlies
Grizzlies /

Memphis Grizzlies: Can anyone stay healthy?

Injuries derailed the Grizzlies last season, resulting in a semi-successful tanking effort that resulted in a coaching change and left the team’s best player mildly upset. Things have to improve in 2019, but Memphis’ roster is extraordinarily delicate. Mike Conley missed the final 70 games of last season while Chandler Parsons only stayed healthy in spurts. Marc Gasol is 33, in decline, and has battled injuries in the past. JaMychal Green and Ben McLemore each missed chunks of time. The list goes on. Memphis exists in the precarious middle ground of the West – on the fringes of the playoff discussion but far from a lock to challenge for a postseason spot. If everything breaks right, the Grizzlies could earn the right to be trounced by Golden State or Houston in the first round.

But flipside of that scenario looms as well, and Memphis could be an injury away from another lost season. The Grizzlies are, to a large degree, locked into the roster they have. Gasol can opt out of his contract after this season, but Conley’s deal runs another two years (plus a player option for the 2021 season) while Parsons has a whopping $49 million left on his disastrous contract from the Summer of ’16. Memphis will be hard pressed to find a taker for either of those deals. Gasol could become trade bait at the deadline, but his value has dipped since last season, when the Grizzlies ought to have dealt him.

It’s possible that a healthy and more coherent roster and a step forward from its brigade of young players gives Memphis enough of a boost to exceed expectations. But even then, the Grizzlies’ ceiling is relatively low, and the franchise can’t afford to spin its wheels for much longer.

Home/NBA