Why the win over the Hawks shows the potential of the Memphis Grizzlies' bench

Jaren Jackson Jr.’s eight blocks may have deflected your attention away from what else was happening while the Memphis Grizzlies blew out the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.

Tyus Jones had 22 points and 11 assists in three quarters while dropping off a nifty bounce pass into the hands of Xavier Tillman Sr. John Konchar threw a no-look transition pass to Dillon Brooks that would have been impressive even by Ja Morant’s standards. Kennedy Chandler got the entire Grizzlies bench on its feet when he threw down a dunk near the end of the first quarter, and Santi Aldama just quietly poured in 16 points.

A lot of talk has been about how the starting lineup will look when healthy, but what about the bench? Several expected key contributors had big games on Monday night, and that’s almost as encouraging as the wait to see the full starting five.

“We’re deep,” Tillman said. “It’s a real 15 deep. Nobody’s role is too extreme to where we need them to do more than they’re capable of.”

“I feel like we definitely have one of the best benches in the whole league,” Ziaire Williams said. “Even the guys who may not play, they’re always ready. That’s the biggest thing with us.”

Since the Grizzlies (18-9) have multiple guys coming off the bench who can step into a starting role in a pinch, the starters have been hurt less by the absences than the second unit.

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Memphis has the 25th bench net rating in the NBA. The unit has been outscored by 249 points through 17 games. The Grizzlies had the sixth best bench net rating last season

Under Taylor Jenkins, the Grizzlies are historically a 10-man rotation team. They’ve been mostly playing with nine this season, but Williams being back has boosted it back to 10.

It is the return of Williams that’s also tied into the potential of the second unit. The current concerns of the second unit include a lack of shot creators and ball handlers. While Morant, Brooks and Desmond Bane are capable of running pick-and-roll situations on the first unit, the second grouping has relied on Jones. Now that Williams is back, he’s still knocking some of the rust off, but he’s been active as a playmaking ball handler.

“There’s definitely plays where the rust kicks in for sure, but I’m working through it,” Williams said. “Coaches keep telling me, 'Don’t worry about that stuff.' ”

The rookies are also developing. David Roddy had 11 points against the Hawks; Chandler continues to make the most of his minutes, and Jake LaRavia is back healthy.

When Bane returns, Konchar will slot back into a bench role, which could bump Roddy out of the 10-man rotation. If that’s the case, the Grizzlies could give their rookies more time to develop.

And this doesn't include Danny Green, who is coming off a torn ACL in the playoffs. He's been a starter for most of his NBA career.

The Grizzlies had one of the NBA’s top benches last season. While the early season stats suggest that Memphis won’t get back to that form, adding chemistry and health positions the Grizzlies to return to form, or even be better.

“I don’t think there’s really a ceiling for it,” Aldama said. “I think it’s just we got to have good starts, and then we just have to build off that.”

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Grizzlies' bench encouraging while waiting for full starting 5