A season filled with ups and downs is finally in the books for the Memphis Grizzlies.
The curtain has dropped for the Memphis Grizzlies in this 2024-25 campaign, as they were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in their first-round series.
They are officially out of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, enduring a 117-115 tight loss in Game 4 right in front of their FedExForum crowd on April 28.
The Grizzlies boldly battled hard despite the Ja Morant injury, but they eventually came up short in the end against the NBA’s best.
The writing was on the wall for a one-sided series after taking a 51-point beatdown in Game 1. And being the first team to leave the postseason picture, Memphis is set for a long summer of contemplation wondering what might come next.
This first-round series against the Thunder was as humbling as it can be for the Grizzlies. And apparently, no one takes it seriously as Jaren Jackson Jr.
Throughout the four-game matchup, the Memphis big man was disappointing. In 34.2 minutes, he averaged 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.5 blocks, shooting 37.9 percent from the field.
With their backs against the wall in Game 4, the former Defensive Player of the Year winner failed to show up as he finished with only 12 points out of 3-of-12 field goals.
That was relatively similar to what he dropped in their forgettable series opener in OKC, prompting ESPN expert Kendrick Perkins to offer scathing criticism against him.
Right after their season elimination, the star forward embraced the burden of his underwhelming display in the entire series for the Grizzlies.
“I gotta be better,” Jackson said. “I gotta be better today. … I think if I’m better today, we win this game and same with the other games, honestly.”
“I’m putting it on myself to continue to bring that to my team because they deserve to get the best version of me out there.
“They brought a lot of defensive pressure. I gotta be ready for that and be able to make adjustments. You gotta have the little things down playing a team like this.”
The Grizzlies are about to enter a highly important summer.
After dismissing Taylor Jenkins from his head coaching post with nine games left into the regular season, the franchise leadership is slated to decide if Tuomas Iisalo deserves to remain as the Grizzlies mentor or not.
Out of yet another demoralizing season finish, Memphis will certainly address their roster and direction with urgency.
Morant’s future within the Grizzlies has been discussed for the past several weeks leading to the postseason, but general manager Zach Kleiman already dismissed the murmurs.
Jackson Jr.’s case will also be an important matter to address for the Grizzlies as he will become max extension eligible with 2025-26 serving as the final year of his current contract.
For the All-Star, the contract talks might be set aside for now as he fully acknowledges the fact that he needs to improve tremendously and bounce back for the better.
“I got to be a whole lot better to win more series and put myself in position,” Jackson Jr, said. “The onus is on me to put our team in position, make reads, make better passes, not turn the ball over, and just be overall better in the postseason.
“And yeah, I mean, that’s on me for sure.”
