Celtics Player Power Rankings + The Grizzlies Are Losing Because They're Cheap
On February 5th, the Memphis Grizzlies went north of the border and laid a beating on the Toronto Raptors, winning 138-107. It was their fourth game scoring 130+ points in their past 10 games, and they were rolling. The win in Toronto made four in a row, and 10 of their past 11. The vibes were immaculate, and they had a three-game lead over Houston for second place in the Western Conference. They had a 35-16 record, and looked every bit the type of team that should be invested in further to solidify their position and fuel a deep playoff run. Unfortunately for Memphis fans, their front office immediately chose the opposite path.
The next day, February 6th, was the NBA trade deadline. Instead of consolidating some of their talent and/or draft picks and getting stronger for the stretch run, they chose to dump salary. They sent off Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart in a multi-team trade, and received Johnny Davis and Marvin Bagley Jr. in return. Soon thereafter they would waive Davis, and Bagley has barely played. He'll become a free agent after the season, and the Grizzilies will be able to wipe his salary off the books. A good bit of salary cap management, if you're into that sort of thing. Unfortunately, it torpedoed Memphis' season.
The next six games were always going to present a stern challenge, no matter who was on the roster. They had a home game versus Oklahoma City (loss), and then a tough five-game road trip – Phoenix (win), LA Clippers (loss), Indiana (loss), Orlando (win), and Cleveland (loss). You know what you need against OKC, possibly the deepest team in the league? You know what you need on a five-game road trip? Depth. With the trade, Memphis sacrificed two of their proven depth pieces. Moreover, their players lost any plausible deniability about what the front office thought of them or their team, and they played down to those expectations.
After tonight's deflating loss at home to the Lakers, the Grizzlies now sit at 44-30, having gone just 9-14 since the trade deadline. They've been worse than that record, too, as they haven't beaten a single above-.500 team in that stretch. Their wins have come against Phoenix (three times, one in overtime), Utah (twice), Orlando, Dallas, New Orleans, and Miami. It's been an embarrassing stretch to say the least. Tonight, they didn't have Ja Morant sitting out as an excuse, either.
Perhaps this middling position was always their destiny. I pegged Memphis for fifth place before the season, and fifth place is where they sit at the moment. But the Grizzlies could have done more. Instead, they tried to have their cake and eat it too, and it blew up in their faces. The front office can foolishly try to pin it on Taylor Jenkins all they want, and they are. There have been some vague stories about how the front office fired a bunch of Jenkins' coaches before the season, and a new offensive system that was working until it wasn't, and blah blah blah. It wasn't an issue for most of the season, and if Jenkins was trying new methods now to pull them out of a tailspin, well I don't really see the issue with that. No. This is on either the team's ownership for being cheap, the front office for being too cute, or both. Maybe it was the only way to offload Smart, but to me, that's an offseason problem. I would have tried to maximize my chances of winning in the present, because otherwise what is the point? Memphis didn't see it that way.
Ironically, they did it so they can sign Jaren Jackson Jr. long-term this summer. But what if Jackson decides this summer that he really doesn't want to be there long-term, and decides to try his luck in free agency in the summer of 2026 when the salary cap spikes and a whole bunch of teams have room to make a splash in free agency? He'd be one of the most desirable players on the market – a player who is capable of domination on both ends of the court, has been durable, and is about to enter his age-27 season? That's a player who will make a lot of money no matter where he signs. And if he leaves, well then you kiss Memphis' hopes of contention with this core goodbye. Ja Morant and Desmond Bane play zero defense, and the team doesn't have any defensive difference maker besides Jackson. They'd be terrible without him. Memphis' best chance of retaining him is Jackson making all-NBA and becoming eligible for a super max extension only they can sign him to, but with Memphis playing so poorly, Jackson might be in the process of falling off the radar. Either way, it's precarious that the team has played so poorly that the Memphis front office needs the media to bail them out. It'll be a fascinating story to watch.
Celtics Player Power Rankings
It's been awhile since we did this – the last one was in November! I haven't been doing them because it has long felt like not much has changed, particularly at the top. That is still true, but things have shifted further down the roster, and with the playoffs approaching, it feels like it's time. Let's do it!
One. Jayson Tatum (last time, 1): At this point, I don't think this needs much justification.
Two. Jaylen Brown (last time, 2): I am more than a little concerned that JB is going to be limping through the playoffs. He's finding it in spurts, so it's not really showing up in the stat sheet, but he just doesn't look right. I feel like I'm studying the Zapruder film every time he's in the game, as I'm now watching him move more than wherever the ball is going.
Three. Derrick White (last time, 3): Even when he's not having a good game, you can count on him to turn it around in the fourth quarter. If Brown goes down for any extended period of time, it'll be D White who has to pick up the slack.
Four. Kristaps Porzingis (last time, 4): He's been playing really well, but he's lower than White because as dominant as he can be most nights, he still is susceptible to bad games against teams that want to get out and run. Tonight in San Antonio was a perfect example.
Five. Jrue Holiday (last time, 5): After a lot of scary hours earlier in the season worrying about his injury status, Holiday is rounding back into form at just the right time. It's the most encouraging sign of the past month.
Six. Luke Kornet (last time, 8): It is going to be so hard to replace Al Horford. Perhaps the way the team replaces him is by not replacing him. Kornet doesn't do all of the things Horford does, but his chemistry with Tatum on the pick and roll, and his absolute laser focus on doing only the things he can do well have made him an essential part of the team. At this point, there is very little drop off, if any, when he comes in for Porzingis, which is not something we've ever been able to say before.
Seven. Payton Pritchard (last time, 6): He's still been great, but in some big games he's not been as impactful as Kornet.
Eight. Al Horford (last time, 7): The drop here has nothing to do with Al's play on the court, because he's been incredible. The depth he provides is just such a bonus. I can't wait to watch him in the playoffs (at least) one more time.
Nine. Sam Hauser (last time, 10): Entering Saturday's play, 96 players had attempted at least 300 three-point field goals this season. Of them, Hauser ranked 10th in three-point percentage, at .418. That percentage ranks best on the team, as does his corner three-point percentage of .485.
Ten. Baylor Scheierman (last time, 13): On March 16th, I noted that Scheierman had "been getting some run lately, and I've liked what I've seen." At that time, Scheierman had played in only three of the prior nine games, all against lottery teams – Philly, Utah, and Brooklyn. But there's been a shift. He's played at least 12 minutes in each of the six games since. He's shot precisely .500 across those games (15-for-30), and made a number of eye-opening plays. It seems clear at this point that he's going to keep seeing important minutes, and that Torrey Craig won't, and that's just fine, because Scheierman is earning them.
Eleven. Neemias Queta (last time, 9): As with Horford, I don't think the dip has anything to do with Queta's play. When he's played, he's been effective. But as coach Joe Mazzulla fleshes out his rotations, it seems likely that Queta is only going to play if two of Porzingis, Kornet, and Horford are unavailable.
Twelve. Torrey Craig (last time, n/a): It is apparent that Mazzulla just doesn't trust Craig to play in the Celtics' system right now, as he's not even seeing the court against bad teams when the team is up big. Perhaps that will change as we get closer to the end of the season and Craig has had more time to get comfortable with the system, but right now, he's not a factor.
Thirteen. Jordan Walsh (last time, 11): He's clearly been passed on the depth chart by Scheierman. Walsh hasn't been bad necessarily, but he still plays a chaotic brand of basketball, and it has cost him minutes.
Fourteen. Xavier Tillman (last time, 13): He's here only out of respect for his past accomplishments. He's only played twice for a grand total of 12 minutes since the All-Star break.
Fifteen. JD Davison (last time, 14): I still maintain that Davison is a solid NBA-caliber player, and on another team, he'd be getting minutes and opening eyes. Much like Dalano Banton, Justin Champagnie, Svi Mykhailiuk, Bruno Fernando, and Moses Brown, just because a guy is not talented enough to crack the epic depth of this Celtics team, doesn't mean they're not NBA players. I hope someday Davison gets a chance. Either way, we're a long way from the 2022-2023 season, when guys who were not NBA caliber players like Justin Jackson, Noah Vonleh, and Mfiondu Kabengele found their way into games.
Sixteen. Drew Peterson (last time, 16): Peterson isn't really bad at any one thing. He's a pretty great shooter, and that's enough to keep him on the team, but not enough to play regularly. There are worse fates.
Seventeen. Miles Norris (last time, n/a): He seems like a good fit on paper. I'll be curious to see if he plays any meaningful minutes in the final week if and when the team starts resting players.