The Memphis Grizzlies were perhaps the most polarizing team in the NBA last season, both on and off of the court. The roster was good enough to compete in the Western Conference, and were able to remain as the sitting two-seed for much of the year. But as talented as they were with the basketball, they also had a knack for remaining in the headlines.
Grizzlies Will Be Motivated From Embarrassing Playoff Loss
“I think getting humbled was the best thing for us… We’re gonna have that edge, we’re gonna come back, we’re gonna be hungry… We’re gonna get it done.”
Jaren Jackson Jr. on the Grizzlies’ future after a disappointing postseason
(via @PodcastPShow)pic.twitter.com/PndtmF2bcr
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 5, 2023
Most of the talk was of course about Ja Morant and his off-court issues. He is the superstar point guard for the Grizzlies and was considered one of the rising stars and faces of the entire league. But that has been marred for the time being, given Morant’s seemingly ever-growing list of problematic situations that he finds himself in.
Making headlines for another reason was Morant’s teammate Dillon Brooks. He became one of the league’s top antogonists, and it felt like he was making news every other day by talking smack to or about his opponents. There were incidents with Draymond Green, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving, just to name a few.
The reputation of the Grizzlies current roster certainly took a hit. A couple of years ago, they were the young, scrappy team that looked like they had a bright future ahead of them. But after their tumultuous season and quick first round exit in the playoffs, we’re not really sure what is in store for Memphis moving forward.
But according to their starting center Jarren Jackson Jr., the loss that they suffered may have actually been beneficial:
“I think getting humbled was the best thing for us…Its going to make us way more hungry. Hungry like we were three years ago…We got leveled at the end of the year, so we gotta sit with that all summer…I’m watching the other games like, really not happy. Trippin’. So this is going to be the best thing for us. We’re going to have that edge…We’re going to get it done.”
His teammate Desmond Bane seems to agree, as he retweeted the quote with overwhelming approval:
Real shit ! https://t.co/YAmkxLgf5K
— Desmond Bane (@DBane0625) June 5, 2023
While a crushing end to a promising season isn’t exactly an obviously beneficial thing, it is something that the Grizzlies can use to motivate themselves going into next year.
But they’ll likely have a tougher go of things during the regular season next year, as Morant is facing the possibility of a lengthy suspension. There are reports that the time he misses could amount to a half of an entire season, in which case Memphis would be strapped to begin the year.
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