In the midst of a flurry of injuries that otherwise would have crippled other teams, the Memphis Grizzlies have somehow doubled down on outworking opponents to simply survive the final five weeks of the NBA regular season. The litany of injuries has cascaded since the announcement of Marc Gasol’s season ending foot surgery: Mike Conley, Matt Barnes, Zach Randolph, Chris Andersen, Brandan Wright, Mario Chalmers, and Vince Carter have all hit the bench in the last two weeks with injuries ranging from a tight hamstring to a season-ending ruptured achilles.
All these setbacks have allowed under-utilized players to squeeze out some playing time to show coach Dave Joerger that they deserve a greater role on the team.