Analyst urges Grizzlies to shut down key player: ‘He should not play another second’
The Memphis Grizzlies are inching closer and closer to the conclusion of 2023-24, a time when they can officially put this tumultuous campaign in the rearview and start prepping for brighter days ahead.
Of course, the end is still a few days away as they have two more games left to play on the regular season docket.
If this season has taught us anything, it’s that this Grizzlies team desperately needs their star players at full strength if they want any chance of pulling out wins on a consistent basis.
Ironically, however, Joe Mullinax of Locked on Grizzlies is suggesting that, at this point, it may actually be best to pull one of the club’s lone consistently healthy studs from the rotation during this final stretch of the year, as he has gone on record to urge Taylor Jenkins to sit All-Star big Jaren Jackson Jr. for the remaining two games of the season.
Grizzlies being urged to sit Jaren Jackson Jr. moving forward
“Jaren Jackson Jr. should not play another second this season. I would argue neither should Luke Kennard. I would argue neither should anybody who maybe, theoretically is healthy enough to go. If they are significant to your plans long-term, whether it’s as a trade piece, whether it’s as a contract extension down the line, whatever the case might be if you think that player is significant enough to your plans either short or long-term, that an injury would derail what that plan might look like, they should not be on the floor. Period. End of story.”
– Joe Mullinax
Of course, Mullinax would go on to note that there are exceptions to this train of thought, as he would state that “a guy like GG Jackson [is] not the kind of conversation we’re talking about,” as he’s a young and promising piece to this rotation who, despite all this, still could use for some extra run in order to continue his development.
In layman’s terms, though their odds of winning is significantly reduced without core guys like Jaren Jackson, Desmond Bane, and Ja Morant on the floor, during this final stretch of the year that could actually prove to be a beneficial factoid for the Grizzlies, as their primary goal now is to try and secure better odds for a higher-end lottery pick in this June’s NBA Draft.
This along with the extra run some of the club’s generally lesser-used commodities and still developing prospects would receive could both be viewed as a positive side effect from sitting players who, as Mullinax described, are “significant to your plans long-term.”
