Why the Memphis Grizzlies have bigger goals than playoff seeding this season

The Memphis Grizzlies didn't hide their excitement last regular season. Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and other teammates expressed their desire to lock down the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference in a chase with the Golden State Warriors, the team that went on to win the NBA championship.

While the Grizzlies (49-28) remain the No. 2 in the Western Conference a year later, the mindset feels different. Maybe it's because of all the personnel changes, or it could be because the team wore down and dealt with injuries in the 2022 postseason.

Dillon Brooks revealed Wednesday that he played with a torn hamstring in last season's playoffs, Bane's back bothered him in the second round against Golden State and Morant missed the final two games of that same series.

So now, the locker room has a much more business feel to it, even though the Sacramento Kings (47-30) sit two games behind the Grizzlies with five to play.

“You can always say it’s important, but we don’t actively talk about it," Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said when asked about playoff seeding. "It was good that the players last year were talking about it. It was that goal, something that they wanted to accomplish, that we did accomplish that. I’m not sure what the chatter has been with those guys. Privately, I always give them their space in that standing. For us, I know I keep saying it, it’s finding our best version of ourselves."

Each season is different, and the challenges of the 2023 season have been constant. The Grizzlies started the season without Jaren Jackson Jr., then Bane went down shortly after Jackson returned.

When the Grizzlies had their full projected starting lineup, they were tied at the top of the Western Conference standings with the Denver Nuggets before Steven Adams was injured. Since then, Brandon Clarke has been lost for the season, and Morant served an eight-game suspension.

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Being healthy

Jenkins has often talked about how while the Grizzlies are taking it a day at a time, there is a bigger plan in place for the long haul. That plan is in part why Bane, Tyus Jones and Jaren Jackson Jr. missed Wednesday's 141-132 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Each player returned on Friday and helped Memphis pick up a 108-94 win. Brooks and Morant pointed at Jackson being back with the defense as a key reason Memphis was able to flip the results. Bane also led the Grizzlies in scoring with 22 points.

Last season, Jackson, Bane and Jones may have played in Wednesday's game. Jenkins has reiterated that the team is emphasizing more this season to allow players to fully heal so issues won't resurface or become worse in the latter part of the season or in the playoffs.

Brooks called the importance of being healthy one of the main things the Grizzlies took from last season's playoff run.

Working in a new rotation

The Grizzlies remain hopeful that Adams can return and be an impact player in the playoffs, but even without Adams, Jenkins still hasn't decided how to solidify the rotation.

Adding Luke Kennard at the trade deadline has helped a weakness. He has surpassed John Konchar and David Roddy as the top wing option off the bench because of his lethal 3-point shooting. Kennard made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points in Friday's win against the Clippers.

Most teams shrink their rotation when the postseason comes, and the Grizzlies are hoping to get down to nine. That would mean one of the player currently producing off the bench would be the odd man out.

"We keep debating that every single day," Jenkins said. "We’ve been going 10 (players) with back-to-backs and four (games) in six (nights), and some guys being banged up here and there, so haven’t gotten to that nine-man as frequently as we’ve wanted to. So, that’s still on the table for discussion. Figuring out some stints for different guys, how their sub patterns are going to be, having it drastically changed from what I think we’re potentially going to do, so focusing on that."

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Grizzlies discuss playoff seeding in the Western Conference