Basketball

Grizzlies’ Steven Adams out 3 to 5 weeks with PCL sprain in right knee



Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams is out three to five weeks with a PCL sprain in his right knee, the team announced Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Adams sustained the injury on Jan. 22 against the Phoenix Suns.
  • Through 42 games played this season, Adams averages 8.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
  • The Grizzlies (31-16) sit second in the Western Conference.

Backstory

Adams, 29, is playing in his 10th NBA season. This is Adams’ second season with the Grizzlies after initially being selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the No. 12 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. He spent his first seven seasons with the Thunder before being dealt to the Pelicans, where he spent one season and eventually traded to Memphis.

For his career, Adams averages 9.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 58.7 percent shooting from the floor.

The Grizzlies play the Golden State Warriors on the road Wednesday. It is a rematch of their Western Conference Semifinals playoff series in 2022, which the Warriors won in six games. Memphis is coming into Wednesday’s contest on a three-game losing streak.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

What this means for the Grizzlies

The timing of this injury likely knocks Adams out until Memphis’s first game after the All-Star break on Feb. 23; if so, he would miss the Grizzlies’ next ten games. Adams is a pretty huge piece of the Grizzlies’ success, leading the NBA in offensive rebound rate while also providing their strongest low post defender.

Memphis is comfortably in second place in the West at the moment so this doesn’t imperil their season or anything, but his absence will make it harder for the Grizzlies to maintain contact with first-place Denver. — Hollinger

How Memphis will replace him

Nominally, Adams’ spot in the starting lineup is likely to be filled by Xavier Tillman, Sr., another banger who can provide physicality and allow shot-blocker Jaren Jackson, Jr. to roam. Tillman is unlikely to see much action beyond the first few minutes of each half, however.

Instead, expect much heavier doses of bench energizer Brandon Clarke, whom the team frequently uses to finish games even if he never starts. More intriguing is the possibility of pairings of Jackson with the up-and-coming Santi Aldama, a combo that is light on muscle but opens the floor for Memphis’s high-scoring guards. — Hollinger

Required reading

(Photo: Petre Thomas / USA Today)





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