Grizzles’ Steven Adams out for 2023-24 season due to knee surgery

The Memphis Grizzlies have lost their starting center Steven Adams for the 2023-24 season because he needs to undergo surgery on the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the team announced on Sunday.

Adams didn’t play for the Grizzlies after January 22 last season as he was injured in the game against the Phoenix Suns. He averaged 8.6 points and 11.5 rebounds, including 2.3 on the offensive glass, and 1.1 blocks at 59.7 percent from the field per game when he was on the court.

Adams’ role in the Grizzlies was much bigger than his stats could reflect. He is one of the best screen setters, a top rebounder and one of the very few who can tussle with Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid with power all alone. Having been known as “the strongest man in the NBA,” he fills the paint so Jaren Jackson Jr. can do what he does the best, patrolling around and offering help defense wherever it’s needed.

Adams is not the only key player the Grizzlies will miss since their All-Star point guard Ja Morant has been suspended for 25 games. That’s why the management traded for former Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, with the Boston Celtics. Outside his excellent defense, he is an okay playmaker and a trustworthy locker room leader. The Grizzlies won’t and shouldn’t count on him for too big an offensive load.

Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane should be the Grizzlies’ go-to guys for scoring production for the new season, at least before Morant comes back. Bane averaged 21.5 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 triples at 40.8 percent per game last season. He has developed workable skills of shooting off the dribble and charging the rim with his strong body. Now Bane must learn to do more to match the five-year, $207 million deal he signed in July.

Jackson Jr. increased more individual attacks, especially in the low post, in the final two months of the 2022-23 regular season and in the playoffs. He’s not yet skilled enough with his footwork or posting moves to become a scoring machine in the paint, but Jackson Jr. is a quick cutter, which makes it easier for him to take on defenders smaller than him. As long as he improves his touch for hook shots and floaters in the restricted area, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to score more than 18.6 points per game.

If the Grizzlies can find an acceptable replacement for Adams, what’s between the team and a top competitor in the Western Conference is a big-sized forward who can switch to guard multiple positions and play off-ball on the offensive end. That kind of player is rare and hard to attract, unless the Grizzlies prove that they can go through the first-round playoffs constantly.