A look at the Memphis Grizzlies Bench Unit’s Improved Play
The Memphis Grizzlies have been playing well despite Ja Morant’s absence, but with Dillon Brooks now in Covid protocols, they’re missing another starting guard. They’ve won six of their last seven games, and the bench production has been a big part of that.
Tyus Jones has played very well in the starting lineup, replacing Morant and impacting the game as a playmaker and a scorer. During this stretch, the primary offensive production has come from Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., who have both taken their games to the next level.
Bane’s been one of the most improved players in the NBA this season, and he’s taken further steps in his development during this recent stretch. He’s shown his ability to take over a game on the offensive end of the floor by attacking the basket and finishing through contact while still being one of the best shooters in the league.
Jaren Jackson Jr. has been inconsistent for much of his first few seasons in the league, including the start of the 2021-22 campaign, but his potential has been on full display the past couple of weeks. He can have a massive impact on the defensive end of a floor, and his offensive game has improved significantly as well.
The talk will be about the key players stepping up, but these wins wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the bench unit producing. They haven’t had their regular group during this stretch, but they’ve gotten good production from a couple of players who haven’t played much this season.
While John Konchar and Xavier Tillman are two guys with inconsistent roles in the rotation, we’ve seen them produce periodically, but the guys that stand out the most are the end of the bench guys who don’t play on a typical night.
Those guys have been Santi Aldama, Killian Tillie, and Jarrett Culver. Even during this stretch, it’s been inconsistent minutes for those guys, but when they’ve been called upon, they’ve had a positive impact to help this team win.
Aldama had an 18 point, ten-rebound performance against OKC, where he helped the Grizzlies win by an NBA record of 73 points. Outside of that game, he hasn’t been asked to do a lot offensively, but he’s gotten some valuable playing time which will help him moving forward.
Tillie has been a critical reserve for this team the past couple of games, including 19 minutes of playing time against Dallas and 17 minutes against the Lakers. He hasn’t stuffed the stat sheet during those minutes, but his ability to shoot the ball from three-point range adds another element to this bench group that makes them even more dangerous.
Culver has flashed a few times this season, but against the Lakers was the first time he appeared to carve out a role in the rotation. With Brooks out in Covid protocols, they needed him in the second unit, and he delivered. He got it done on both ends of the floor with eight points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
While these three guys won’t be asked to play every night, it’s important that over an 82 game season, you can trust these guys to produce when needed. While the stars of this team get most of the credit, it’ll take every single player for this team to reach their full potential.
-Chris Kern
Twitter: @ChrisKern11