In a recent NBA regular season game, the Grizzlies beat the Pacers 133-103 at home to claim their 51st win of the season.
After this game, the Grizzlies officially locked up a playoff spot, becoming the second team in the league to lock up a playoff spot after the Suns.
The Grizzlies currently have a record of 51 wins and 23 losses, ranking second in the West, while the Timberwolves, who are seventh in the West, are currently 42-32, nine wins behind the Grizzlies, meaning they can secure a top six position in the West even if the Grizzlies lose all of the remaining games.
Last season, the Grizzlies narrowly beat the Warriors in the playoffs and were eliminated by the Jazz in the first round as eighth in the West. But the young upstart, led by Morant, is beginning to show its amazing potential.
Fast forward a season, the Grizzlies have shown their talent to the fullest, and eight games ahead of schedule, locked in a top six position in the West, the future has come ahead!
After the black and white era, the Grizzlies began to enter a long period of reconstruction, but after selecting Morant, the small-ball city team, which is difficult to recruit giants in the free market, began to see hope for the rise.
Morant's talent has been vividly displayed in his rookie season, but with Morant alone, the Grizzlies are obviously not able to achieve such a huge success.
More importantly, through the draft, they have reserved a number of talented young players, and under the leadership of young coach Jenkins, they have created a stable and excellent system.
It is this system that has allowed the Grizzlies' young players to grow rapidly in the past two seasons and far exceed expectations. And how good this system really is, it can be seen from Morant's performance after his absence this season.
Morant is the Grizzlies' number one star, which is undisputed, and he can average 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season, which can be imagined for the team.
However, so far this season, in his 18 games due to injury, the Grizzlies not only did not fluctuate and decline in his record because of his absence, but instead played the first momentum in the league, achieving a record of 16 wins and 2 losses, which was even better than when they were all played, which was a miracle in the league.
Looking at the entire league, no team can maintain the same winning percentage in the absence of the number one star, let alone achieve a better record than before, and the Grizzlies have surprisingly done this, which makes people have to admire this team that is considered the biggest dark horse of the season, it is really too strong!
Morant is absent, they also have Bain and Brooks two top scorers can make up for the lack of offensive end, so far this season, 2nd year rookie Bain can average 18 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, Morant's absence, so that his potential has been fully released.
Dillon Brooks, on the other hand, remained as steady as ever, averaging 17.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Another key figure in the Grizzlies' success is Jalan Jackson, who has now become the Grizzlies' defensive gate. So far this season, he has averaged 16.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, as well as 2.3 blocks.
According to statistics, this season, The number of 2+ blocks per game by Jarun Jackson is 50, the number of 3+ blocks is 25, the number of 4+ blocks is 14, the number of 5+ blocks is 8, and the number of 6+ blocks is 2, all of which are the first in the league. In Morant's mind, Jaren Jackson is the DPOY of the season!
Therefore, with a stable offensive and defensive system, with scorers who can make up for Morant's gap on the offensive end, and their excellent lineup depth, the Grizzlies can survive Morant's absence, and even from the perspective of the record, it is not a difficulty.
Of course, it is not that Morant's record is better, which means that Morant is superfluous for this Grizzlies, and in the playoffs, the star will be the protagonist, and at key moments, anxious moments, when someone needs to step up and break the deadlock, Morant will be the number one candidate for the Grizzlies.
Since entering the league, we have seen Morant's amazing performance at key moments many times, when the Grizzlies, who have a stable offensive and defensive system, and Morante, the superstar embryo, will also increase, and the playoff prospects will be brighter.