Oh, good. The Memphis Grizzlies are dealing with more injuries.
Chandler Parsons (knee) and Brandan Wright (ankle) are still recovering from setbacks that kept them out of the team’s season-opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, and Tony Allen ended up joining them with a knee injury of his own, per ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon:
Grizzlies shooting guard Tony Allen is likely to miss a week. The swelling in his knee is gone, but he’s working to regain full strength and explosiveness.
Andrew Harrison, the 44th pick in the 2015 NBA draft, started in place of Allen on Wednesday. The Grizzlies’ starting five, in fact, looked super weird, with JaMychal Green assuming his new post and James Ennis filling in for Chandler Parsons. Marc Gasol and Mike Conley rounded out the combination, which bore resemblance to a summer league lineup that was being intruded upon by veterans. Or something.
It’s not clear how much Allen’s absence will effect the Grizzlies. He is still their most aggressive perimeter pest, but he’s also 34, with a broken jumper to boot. Experimenting with different lineups might unlock better floor spacing that’s more beneficial long term.
Still, playing without Allen is an annoyance when you’re dealing with other injuries. The Grizzlies already have to account for two missing starters, Parsons and new Sixth Man of the Year candidate Zach Randolph, and the absence of Allen further messes with their defensive schemes.
More importantly, on a macro scale, his injury reminds us how tightly tethered the Grizzlies’ success is to the health of their core most players. They don’t have a non-injury risk in the bunch, and if things don’t break right for a majority of them, even earning a bottom-two playoff spot will be a tough slog.
