It has been a nightmare season thus far for a Memphis Grizzlies team with ambitions of competing in the Western Conference. Without Ja Morant due to his 25-game suspension, the Grizzlies have found it extremely difficult to get anything going. In fact, even though Desmond Bane is working as hard as ever, expanding his game off the bounce, the Grizzlies have mustered the league's 29th-ranked offense — scoring a mere 106.3 points per 100 possessions which is only better than the Portland Trail Blazers' league-worst offense.
Morant's return is on the horizon; there are only six games left in the Grizzlies star's suspension, so big-time reinforcement is on the way. But it's going to be an uphill battle for the Grizzlies to try and climb the standings anyway; at the moment, they have a 5-14 record, and there are 12 conceivable teams that can challenge for a spot in the play-in tournament. (At the moment, the Golden State Warriors sit outside the play-in picture, which goes to show how stacked the West is.)
It's still early days in the 2023-24 season, but it's looking like this will be a lost season for the Grizzlies. Unearthing some gems and evaluating which players on the roster at the moment will play a big role moving forward for Memphis will be crucial as they put this nightmare of a season behind them. With that said, here is the young player who has absolutely earned more minutes in Taylor Jenkins' rotation.
Santi Aldama, Grizzlies starting SF?
It has been a revolving door for the Grizzlies at the starting forward position; with the return of Ja Morant beckoning and Marcus Smart recovering from a left foot injury, the plan for the Grizzlies appears to be to put Morant and Smart together in the backcourt, with Desmond Bane lining up at the three.
The loss of Dillon Brooks has stripped the Grizzlies of their identity; for as much flak as Brooks gets, he sure instilled a culture of instigation and a take no possessions off approach into the entire team. But what Brooks gave was a steady hand at the small forward position as well. He was a terrific point of attack defender, and he's underrated when it comes to getting to the rim — he simply couldn't rein in his tendency to barf up some ugly perimeter shots.
Now, the Grizzlies have mostly turned to Ziaire Williams and David Roddy to fill the starter's role at the three, to mixed results. Williams has shown flashes of being a solid two-way player, but he doesn't do much off the dribble, his three-ball is inconsistent, and he doesn't offer much in the way of playmaking. What he is an athletic cutter who can clean up on the boards, which may not be what the Grizzlies need given their offensive woes.
Meanwhile, David Roddy is an even more inconsistent shooter than Williams, and there are a ton of offensive possessions where Roddy does nothing to stress defenses. He is a big body on defense who can annoy the number one offensive options of other teams on the wing, and not much more.
However, the Grizzlies may have something in their ultra-big look at the forward spots if they start Santi Aldama alongside Jaren Jackson Jr., and just let the Spanish international loose. Aldama, the 6'11 big man, has plenty of guard skills; he can handle the rock, get to the rim, and he's even audacious in letting it fly from the perimeter.
There may be defensive issues that arise from starting Aldama, but at this point, the 22-year old is one of the Grizzlies' best players. And the Grizzlies should see just how far Aldama can stretch his game. Given the dearth of offensive talent on the roster, Aldama's skillset makes him the team's ideal candidate to step up and take on a larger scoring burden, especially when he can pose some mismatch problems given his size if he starts at the three.
The Grizzlies have already started Santi Aldama at small forward this season, although Taylor Jenkins quickly abandoned that setup in favor of David Roddy. Aldama is surely higher in the priority list of the Grizzlies' long-term keepers, so the team should just give him a 30-minute a night role at the three in a tall lineup reminiscent of the Utah Jazz's decision to start Lauri Markkanen in a jumbo frontcourt.
What to make of Jacob Gilyard and Vince Williams Jr.?
Jacob Gilyard is a 5'9 guard who's had to fill in some important minutes for the Grizzlies at the point; his defensive deficiencies due to his size as well as his lack of top-shelf athleticism makes it difficult to envision a bigger role for him moving forward. Gilyard is also 25 years old, so it's not like he's that young to begin with.
Meanwhile, Vince Williams Jr. has been rock-solid for the Grizzlies as of late, playing a 20-minute a night role thanks to his hustle and tenacity on the backboards. He has usurped John Konchar in the rotation, and if he continues to stroke it well from deep, he could end up sticking in the rotation even when Ja Morant returns.
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