Larry Kuzniewski
Jeff Green continues to search for his fit with the Grizzlies.
Tonight, the Grizzlies’ bench and training camp guys played the Thunder’s bench and training camp guys (along with some of their starters, I guess?) and won, 94-78, in what was without a doubt the most anticlimactic moment of the preseason thus far.
Earlier in the day Friday it had been announced that Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka would be taking the game off for Oklahoma City—”rest” was cited as the reason, and it’s hard to argue with that, given that every team plays 8 preseason games. So it was no surprise when the Grizzlies, closer to gametime, announced their own slate of resting players: Mike Conley, Courtney Lee, Tony Allen, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol all sat out Friday night’s game for rest. Beno Udrih missed out, too, presumably to keep him off of the ankle he tweaked against Cleveland, and Jordan Adams was in dress clothes again waiting to return from offseason knee surgery.
That being the case, there were a lot of things we saw from the Grizzlies on Friday night that we’ll never see again, not this season. Herewith, some thoughts:
➭ JaMychal Green is going to get whatever minutes Jarnell Stokes thought he’d get. Before training camp started I would’ve said Stokes was the player with more upside and the most ability to become the “bench big man of the future” this season. Now that the season is here, and Green is playing out of his mind, coupled with Stokes’ somewhat lackluster play (and some of his poor decision-making with the ball down the stretch of the game last night), it’s hard to make an argument for Stokes over Green this season.
I don’t think that means the Griz should get rid of Stokes (see my next note), but I do think that Green will be the 4th big in the rotation this season.
➭ Dave Joerger wants the team to sign Ryan Hollins for the year. He made that pretty clear during his postgame press conference Friday night, saying he thinks Hollins has played really well and hat he’d love to have him around.
I don’t think that’s a good idea. I think Hollins has played pretty well this preseason, and he seems like a nice guy, well-liked in the locker room, but I just don’t know that it’s worth tying up a roster spot on a guy who you might not really need and who, let’s be honest, is an average NBA player over the course of his career. For now, I think the Grizzlies’ best strategy with Hollins is to wait. If they need another big man later on once 10-day contract season starts, one will almost definitely be available. Roster spots are too valuable to tie up on a replacement-level player.
Larry Kuzniewski
No one in this photograph from last year played in the game last night.
➭ Jeff Green still doesn’t know what to do with himself on offense. You could chalk it up to playing with the second unit last night, when perhaps he’s been playing and practicing with the starters mostly, but this feels like an optimistic reach. Brandan Wright got frustrated with Green for not being in the right spot or doing the right thing last night, and Brandan Wright has been on the team for three weeks.
I think Jeff Green fits with the bench better than he fits with the starters, but I think even that boils down to sticking him in a lineup where his lack of feel for how a play is developing can’t damage the offensive flow so severely. I don’t think the Jeff Green Era should extend past this season. In all honesty, I’m not sure it should extend past January.
➭ Some lineups should stay in the preseason. At one point last night the Griz deployed a 5-man unit of Russ Smith, Jeff Green, Matt Barnes, JaMychal Green, and Brandan Wright. Let us never speak of this again.
Up Next
The Grizzlies are home again against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. Theoretically, the normal starters (calling Tony Allen a “normal starter” here) will be back in action against a young Wolves team loaded with players who are fun to watch—Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, and now Karl Anthony Towns. If the Wolves can stay healthy this year, they won’t be a playoff team, but they may at least be fun to watch develop.
