The Memphis Grizzlies exceeded almost everyone’s expectations in the second year of a rebuild with one of the youngest teams in the NBA.
This team wasn’t supposed to be competing in the playoffs according to NBA experts and fans around the league. They had no business taking Game 1 in Utah against the Jazz.
Regardless of what others think, the team had the kind of resilience and resolve that’s rarely seen in young teams. Their mindset is always to try to prove others wrong. They truly are a “bunch of hoopers” as Grayson Allen eloquently phrased after a victory against the Phoenix Suns in 19th Annual MLK Day Celebration Game.
The Utah Jazz did what they were supposed to do — defeat the 8th seeded Grizzlies and move on to the next round. However, those pesky kids didn’t make it easy for them.
In Game 5, the Jazz ended the Grizzlies’ improbable playoff run 126-110 on Wednesday night in the elimination game to take the series 4-1.
Something to build upon
The consensus after the game was, “We will be back.”
Taylor Jenkins said those were Ja Morant’s words to the team. Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr. echoed them. Then Morant uttered them again.
Taylor Jenkins shared his reflections on the season during his postgame press conference.
“This was an unbelievable season. Many people are saying what a good season — this was a great season for the Memphis Grizzlies. So much individual growth and team growth, to get to this point. Every team in the NBA has gone through this unique season with unique challenges, but our team has stuck together and put ourselves in this great position to play meaningful basketball at the end of season, push through and break through and make the playoffs to go up against the best team in the NBA.”
Jenkins is a coach that values his young team and he is adamant they will become better.
“And do some great things and do some things that are going to motivate us moving forward,” Jenkins added.
“Just so proud of them — the togetherness of this team, the fighting components of this team, day in and day out. And we’ve got a bright, bright future ahead of us that I know if we continue to work on the things that we are capable of and we will work on any investment everyone’s put in, we’re gonna have just this bright future that I’m so excited about.”
During his postgame conference Dillon Brooks was pleasantly optimistic, “We will be back — I think the taste of the playoffs is on everybody’s mind, and this offseason got to be a special offseason for every single one of my teammates.”
When asked about the team’s resilience to overcome all the challenges it faced during the season, Brooks said, “That’s how we’re built. We hit adversity and we hit it hard. Other guys had to step up, and that’s growth in itself. We fight it head-on, and we find a way every single night to battle. I don’t see a lot of teams playing as hard as us, and that’s contagious throughout our team.
“We hold the standard that when you come on the floor you gotta play just as hard. And we will be back.”
“I get to play with a bunch of guys that care so much about the game,” Jackson said after the game. “It’s so refreshing to be around, and they play so hard. I’ve seen them work so much behind the scenes. I get to see what you don’t get to see. It comes from a place of real joy and effort. It really translates through everybody. I’m so blessed to be a part of this team. They make it easy for me.”
For Jackson, experience is the best teacher for this young team. “We got a lot of guys who were young, so we got this experience of being in the playoffs,” he said. We had a little taste of it so we can build on that. We got a taste of what it’s like to lock in on a team multiple times and make adjustments and have to make adjustments quickly. Every possession matters and a lot of the late games we were playing because we’re fighting to get a good seeding and then we’re fighting to stay in the playoffs so those are the biggest things.”
He added, “That’s what championship teams have, they have that mentality that switches where it’s like okay every possession matters, they’re not coasting, they’re not checked out — they’re locked in every single time because they know that it matters.”
Jackson went on to say, “We’re young, so at the end of the day we can take this and take it all forward. We never want to use youth as an excuse. It never is, we don’t care. I don’t care who’s out there, we just love competing, but at the end of the day, experience goes a long way.”
Jackson has no doubts about the team’s ability to get back on the big stage.
After being asked what he needed to work on this off season, Morant replied with one word, “Everything.”
Morant had a breakout postseason and has put the entire NBA on notice with his performance.
“I feel like throughout this series we had the fight and never gave up no matter what was going on,” Morant said about the positive outlook of the team. “That’s one of the biggest positives we had in the playoffs.”
Morant discussed the players shared mentality. He said, “It just shows everybody here is bought in and wants to be better. We all have that never-satisfied mentality -— we all want to work, to be better, for it to be everybody is a big plus. We just got to continue to do what we’ve been doing. Lock in this offseason and just be prepared for next season.”
With their play in the postseason, it appears to be just the beginning for this young, gritty, and hungry Grizzlies team.
