As two teams that are not widely considered to be in the inner circle of title contenders, the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies are projected to be competing for playoff spots with each other during the 2024-25 season.
However, that may no longer be the case if the Grizzlies get hit with the injury bug yet again this year. Last season, Brandon Clarke (76 games missed), Ja Morant (73), Marcus Smart (62), Luke Kennard (43), Demond Bane (40), Vince Williams Jr. (30), and Jaren Jackson Jr. (16) all missed at least 15 games.
Now, while it feels like our Kings (*knocks wood aggressively*) are getting healthier – with photos of Kevin Huerter meticulously training to get healthy for the start of next season – it seems like the Grizzlies are getting more and more beat up.
Injuries are piling up for the Memphis Grizzlies
It started in late August, when it was announced that GG Jackson, the Grizzlies' standout rookie, injured his right foot and could be in danger of missing a significant portion of the season. That was already bad enough. But, on Friday, things got worse as the team announced that the other standout wing from last year, Williams., is also expected to miss time with a left shin injury.
The two biggest bright spots of last season -- GG Jackson and now Vince Williams Jr. -- won't be available on opening night. This is such a bummer, man https://t.co/GG4evCBfmk
— Parker Fleming (@PAKA_FLOCKA) September 27, 2024
What this means for the Sacramento Kings
This is some rough news for the Grizzlies, as, to be honest, a healthy version of their team has a much higher ceiling than our Kings. Outside of their star trio of Morant, Bane, and Jaren Jackson, the Grizzlies also boasted four two-way guards/wings/forwards in Smart, GG Jackson, Williams, and Santi Aldama. Now, half of those four players won't even be in the lineup when the regular season begins at the end of October.
To be fair, Williams shouldn't miss that much time, and you never want to count on injuries when you are doing analysis. But the fact that the Grizzlies have already sustained injuries to two key players, coupled with their past history of this, does not bode well for their chances of staying healthy in 2024-25*.
(*Sidebar: I really hope I am wrong here because a healthy version of this Grizzlies team would be insanely fun to watch.)
If the Grizzlies can't stay healthy, that means that there are only four teams in the Western Conference (the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets) with a definitively better roster than the Kings, giving us a much better chance of landing a top six seed in the 2024-25 NBA Playoffs.