Grizzlies Notes: Jackson, Morant, Edey, Bane, Williams

After winning over 50 games in back-to-back seasons, the Grizzlies were decimated by injuries in 2023/24 and finished with a 27-55 record. As demoralizing as that season was, the team was able to find some silver linings. One was the offensive emergence of big man Jaren Jackson Jr., the only starter to remain relatively healthy — his 30.4% usage rate in ’23/24 dwarfed his previous career high.

“It was just a huge opportunity,” Jackson told Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “I haven’t ever been put in a position to be that offensively free in probably my life. Just getting those experiences, I can take that to any year that I have going forward.”

“Last year was a huge boost in his growth offensively,” head coach Taylor Jenkins added. “It was definitely an unintended opportunity, obviously as unfortunate as last season was, but his development was one of the brightest spots I could see.”

Jackson has carried those offensive strides over to ’24/25, matching his career-high 22.5 points per game through his first 10 outings and scoring much more efficiently (.547 FG%, .392 3PT%) than he did a year ago (.444/.320).

Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, meanwhile, served a 25-game suspension to start the season, then was active for just nine games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury that kept him out of action for the next 10 months. Obviously, that wasn’t an ideal outcome for the rising star, but he believes the experience could benefit him in the long run.

“I’d say it was for the better,” Morant said, per MacMahon. “It allowed me to lock in mentally, focus more. I was able to be around my family a lot during my recovery process, being able to travel, feel human again, go to my AAU teams’ games, watch them win, watch the joy that they have being out there playing. It had me itching to get back on the floor.”

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

• Morant is still on crutches and is considered week-to-week as he recovers from a right hip subluxation and pelvic muscle strains, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, who spoke to sports medicine specialist and orthopedic surgeon Michael Gerhardt about Morant’s diagnosis and potential recovery timeline. “Based on what the reports are, I’d say it could be anywhere from three-to-six weeks for a return to play,” Gerhardt said, noting that the injury is an uncommon one for basketball players.
• Ahead of this year’s draft, some teams didn’t have Zach Edey on their first-round boards, sources tell MacMahon. However, the Grizzlies were happy to select him with the No. 9 overall pick and made him a day-one starter. Edey has come off the bench in Memphis’ past three games, but Jenkins said that move wasn’t meant to be a demotion for the rookie and that it was designed to let the team evaluate different lineup combinations. Mark Medina of Athlon Sports has more on the Grizzlies’ belief in Edey and the early stages of his NBA career.
• Vince Williams (left tibial stress reaction), who has yet to make his season debut, isn’t the only injured Grizzlies player who is close to returning. Desmond Bane (right oblique strain) is also listed as questionable to play on Friday in Golden State after missing Memphis’ past seven games, tweets Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com. Both Williams and Bane participated in today’s shootaround and their availability vs. the Warriors will be determined after pregame workouts, Wallace adds.