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The Memphis Grizzlies are playing .500 basketball right now after an unexpected start that had NBA fans questioning if Memphis had returned to being a playoff contender. When Memphis Grizzlies second year guard Dillon Brooks went down with a freak injury, Memphis was 7-4 and top three in the very competitive Western Conference.
Flash forward a month since Brooks went down with his MCL sprain, and Memphis is struggling to find production in those minutes. Of course Memphis has guys like MarShon Brooks and Wayne Selden. However, if you pick one, you give something up on the court. With MarShon, Memphis gives up defensive stability and in a brutal Western Conference where almost every team plays a solid two guard every night, it is a sacrifice to put MarShon out there.
Of course MarShon is a ‘bucket getter’ but by the time he gets his points, his matchup has either offset his scoring or someone has taken off because Memphis’ defense is breaking down. Breaking down trying to help MarShon with his matchup and the opposing matchup is taking advantage of Memphis’ defensive rotations.
With Selden, Memphis is asking for a defensive presence, but is giving up the offensive threat. While Selden has his flashes on the offensive end, consistency or lack thereof will be the story of his time in Memphis.
That leaves Memphis trying to bide the time until Brooks returns, and hopefully that is soon. With Brooks you get consistency on both ends of the floor, and health wise too. Before the freak knee injury, Brooks played all 82 games in his rookie season, and was finally starting to find his role with a healthy Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.
Wednesday afternoon or sometime Thursday, Memphis will let the media know about Brooks’ status after sitting out a month with this MCL Sprain. This will be the fifth week Brooks will be out, and the average recovery time for an MCL Sprain is 6-8 weeks.
No one knew what Brooks was going to bring the franchise this offseason after a down year, but a quarter of the way through the season it is clear- Brooks is Memphis’s X-Factor. Having Brooks back will give Memphis a chance any night, but right now that gap hasn’t been filled, and Memphis is vulnerable. For Memphis, here is to hoping for the best news possible on Brooks in the coming days.