The Whiteboard: How do the Grizzlies recover from a lost season?

Ja Morant's season is over after nine games. He served a 25-game suspension and, just weeks after his return, suffered a labral tear that will need season-ending surgery.

Any hopes the Grizzlies had of a frantic postseason push are absolutely dead — they are 7-20 without Morant. The question now is what they can accomplish over the rest of this season to come back stronger next year.

What do the Grizzlies need to do without Ja Morant?

There are some player development tasks the Grizzlies accomplish over the rest of the regular season — more on-ball creation reps for Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., as many minutes as possible for Zaire Williams, Santi Aldama, Vince Williams Jr. and David Roddy. But most of their work will be accomplished at the trade deadline or in the offseason.

The Grizzlies will go into next season with a core of Morant, Bane, Jackson Jr. and Marcus Smart. Brandon Clarke and Steven Adams, who are both out this season, are under contract and will be back and hopefully healthy. Derrick Rose and John Konchar are both under contract and they'll have decisions to make on team options for Luke Kennard, Williams, Jake LaRavia, Roddy and Aldama.

The Grizzlies won't have a ton of ways to get involved at the deadline but Kennard, who has been out for nearly a month with a bone bruise, hasn't been the wing shooter they were hoping for and might have a market. Their only other option would be flipping some of those younger players who haven't made their mark yet. It might be a long shot but there's a chance, if Kennard comes back before the deadline and is making some shots, they could pull off something like him, Konchar and Xavier Tillman to the Knicks for Evan Fournier and the Mavs 2024 first-round pick (currently No. 22).

The Grizzlies will also have their own first-round pick (there is a very small chance it could be involved in a pick swap if the Wizards somehow make the playoffs and the Suns don't). It's currently slotted at No. 6 and even if they continue to struggly without Morant they probably won't advance too much with the historic struggles of the Spurs, Pistons, Hornets and Wizards ahead of them.

Even at No. 6, the Grizzlies will have some options who could make a difference for them as soon as next season. Assuming Adams and Clarke are healthy next season, they'll biggest need is a shooter on the wing who can defend and offer some secondary creation ability. Prospects like Matas Buzelis, Zacchaire Risacher, Cody Williams, Ron Holland, Ryan Dunn, Tyler Smith and Bobi Klintman could all be in play.

Unless the Grizzlies dump some salary this summer, they won't have cap space to be a major player for any top-tier free agents. But they'll have the opportunity to fill in the gaps with some low-cost specialists like Dario Saric, Kelly Oubre Jr., Furkan Korkmaz or Goga Bitadze, as a replacement for Adams if the dump him.

In the end, the Grizzlies roster is likely to be very similar going into next season, in theory with health for Morant, Adams and Clarke being the difference-makers that catapult them back into contention. But meaningful development from their young players, some tweaking around the edges of the roster and a home-run swing with that first-round pick could put them right back where they hope to be.

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Tyrese Haliburton's injury could have big ramifications

Ja Morant's shoulder surgery wasn't the only big NBA injury news last night. Late in the second quarter against the Celtics last night, Tyrese Haliburton slipped on a drive and slid into a split. He had to be helped off the floor and did not return. The Pacers announced he will undergo an MRI today to assess the extent of the hamstring injury.

The Pacers were able to steal the win thanks to a huge night from Bennedict Mathurin and a controversial call at the buzzer but they'll have their work cut out for them over the next few weeks. Haliburton will almost certainly miss a few games but if his absence stretches longer than that it could seriously affect their trade deadline calculus.

TJ McConnell is one of the best backup point gaurds who could be available at the deadline but the Pacers will likely be more interested in keeping him if they need to replace Haliburton's minutes. Ditto for Buddy Hield. The Pacers have also been heavily linked with Pascal Siakam but taking that big swing seems less reasonable if they don't know what they're going to get from Haliburton over the rest of this season.

A lot will come down to his MRI results but right now, chaos has the potential to engulf the Pacers and ripple out through the rest of the league.

READ MORE:

• Pacers better prepared to win without Tyrese Haliburton by Dustin Dopirak, for The Indianapolis Star
• Pacers reveal initial Tyrese Haliburton injury udpate after scary incident vs. Celtics by Jack Simone, for 8 points, 9 seconds
• Jaylen Brown calls for ‘investigation’ after controversial call in Celtics’ loss to Pacers
  by Jared Weiss, for The Athletic
• On Bennedict Mathurin's shot less taken by Caitlin Cooper, for Basketball, She Wrote

QUICK HITTER: If the Pacers are playing, take the over

The Pacers have had one of the most effecient offenses and least efficient defenses in the NBA this season, but their extremely high pace exaggerates the scoring at both ends. They rank first in offensive efficiency and 26th in defensive efficiency, but first and 29th in points scored and allowed per game.

The Pacers' 133-131 win over the Celtics last note was noteworthy in that it was the 34th game this season in which both teams scored more than 130 points. Of those 34 games, 10 have involved the Pacers. The Hawks have been involved in eight, and three other teams (Raptors, Kings and Thunder) are tied with six.

It's may depend on how long Tyrese Haliburton is out and much of an offensive hit they take in his absence. But the Pacers were on track to blow past last season where they played 18 games in which both teams scored 130+, by far the most in the league. Only six other teams even managed 10 or more such games last season.

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