Grizzlies' Taylor Jenkins sounds alarm over Ja Morant, Desmond Bane's supporting cast
Yesterday at 03:49 PM
The regrouped Memphis Grizzlies do not have a leadership crisis, contrary to reports from ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins. However, Taylor Jenkins is starting to lose some patience as the NBA Playoffs loom. The faith in the system is unwavering, but the clock is ticking to turn good looks into made shots. Ja Morant and Desmond Bane remain the Griddy grooving heartbeat of this team, capable of carrying Memphis to victories even on off nights from three-point range. Yet, their heroics can only mask the team's three-point shooting woes for so long.
Jenkins not-so-subtly called out the supporting cast and the team’s three-point shooting after Ja Morant and Desmond Bane willed the Memphis Grizzlies to a 107-104 last-second road win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The franchise record holder for wins did not mince words either.
“It’s encouraging that those guys (Ja Morant and Desmond Bane) are rising to the challenge for sure. We definitely need some other guys to make a few more plays,” Jenkins stressed. “Great creation from Des and Ja, I mean, 14 assists from those guys. (With) their scoring, ability to get to the free throw line, rebounds, defensive activity, we just need more guys to play better.”
Playing better is as simple as making shots. The defensive effort has not waned much during the NBA’s mid-season lull. Tired legs are just a part of the job after playing over 60 games. Great teams find ways to win but the Grizzlies have been falling just short far too often in 2025 and it’s starting to take a toll.
Memphis made out like bandits in New Orleans. Morant had 32 points, six assists, four rebounds, and three steals; Bane finished with 30 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals. The duo combined to shoot just 5-of-17 from three-point range though. The Grizzlies were 13-49 from three-point range collectively in the Big Easy and the bench unit could barely hit the Mississippi River from beyond the arc.
It was another datapoint pointing to disaster, another microcosm of a larger issue plaguing the Grizzlies this season: a supporting cast that has not consistently risen to the occasion. Poor shooting in big moments has led to a 12-18 record against over-.500 teams. With the offensive burden disproportionately falling on the star duo, the challenge to the rest of the roster—Jaylen Wells, Vince Williams Jr., GG Jackson, and Scotty Pippen Jr. specifically—couldn't be clearer: step up or risk squandering a once promising season.
“Obviously, hopefully, we are able to break the lid off of the three-point rim,” Jenkins sighed. “I thought we took exactly what the Pelicans were going to give us tonight with a lot of bodies in the paint, kickouts whether it was offensive rebounds, then drive-kick, and even other opportunities where we made the pass out. But it’s difficult right now. We’re not knocking down shots like we need to and it’s putting a lot of pressure (on Morant and Bane).”
Forget the bargaining stage of grief or using some mathematical tricks to push the shooting woes under the rug. Jenkins is giving the Grizzlies no room for excuses after more than a few brick-laying blunders have led to bad, one-possession losses this season.
“The sample size is the sample size. It’s not just a couple of games,” asserted Jenkins. “Guys have been in the rotation. Jaylen, thankfully, broke the lid open in the fourth quarter (vs. New Orleans). I think (Vince Williams Jr.) is getting great looks. (GG Jackson) is getting great looks, Ja has got great looks. I mean, whether it is variance or not, we have got to keep putting the work in.”
Jenkins' frustration with the team's three-point shooting woes is palpable, but so is his belief in the process. The process is better than the recent end-results might suggest as evidenced by the Grizzlies generating good shots. Their accuracy is just slightly off. Sorting that out before the NBA Playoffs begin is on top of the priority list in Memphis.
“With the type of shots we are getting, I don’t think too many of them are heavily contested,” Jenkins noted. “It’s can we get better rhythm into those shots with our ball movement? I’ll continue to watch that and monitor that, but I feel like a lot of the hockey assists and the assists for three-point attempts are great. It’s exactly what we’ve been practicing. So we’ve just got to keep trusting in that work.”
“I love that these last two games on the road trip our guys are just super positive throughout,” added Jenkins. “They keep telling each other to just shoot it. That gives me a lot of trust, especially with Ja and Des being our primary creators right now. They have faith in their teammates and are not trying to go away from them. Obviously when they’ve got opportunities to take over, they’ve got to take over.”
A nailbiting win over the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks (32-33) preceded the win over another NBA Draft Lottery bound also-ran squad in New Orleans (17-48). Next up is Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns (30-34), another team with an NBA Play-In Tournament ceiling at best. The Grizzlies (40-24) have to shoot their way into a top-four seed and some fourth quarter cushions so Ja Morant and Desmond Bane can keep down the regular season miles.
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