Grizzlies leaning into position-less basketball will help player development
The Grizzlies have been forced to play with more positional fluidity the past few weeks, and it should only help the development and progression for the available players.
The game continues to evolve. Roles are expanding more and more by the year. It’d be remiss of me to not include this insightful clip of Steven Adams’ response to my question about his leap as a playmaker:
As Adams referred to, big men are asked to operate with the ball in their hands more — making reads in handoff’s, pick-and-roll’s, and with cutters. A good chunk of big men or forwards have to space the floor as well.
Wings being 3-point specialists and 3-and-D players is fine, but even at the role player level, their value holds better further into the postseason if they can put the ball on the floor as well.
Aside from the star-level or heliocentric ball-handlers, traditional “score-first” guards have to play off the ball as well.
With more teams switching, players have to possess scheme or positional versatility — wings need to guard multiple positions, bigs have to play at the level or in drop in screen coverages (maybe even switch altogether).
The game is becoming more fluid, perhaps even “position-less.”
And for a Memphis Grizzlies team depleted of its 3 best playmakers and 2 centers, they have to lean into more “position-less basketball” concepts than normal. More players are playing on the ball, and they’re leaning into “small-ball” with forwards and wings taking on some of the responsibilities of the big man.
Taylor Jenkins more on the team’s position-less basketball philosophy forming:
It’s not going to be perfect. In the 5 games since Desmond Bane’s injury, the Grizzlies hold the 3rd-worst offensive rating at 105.5 points per 100 possessions. However, there will be flashes where the offense clicks — like spurts of last week’s Minnesota and Golden State games, or Monday’s Toronto win. It should also bode well for player development, too.
Diving into some actions prior to specific developments, this play encompass its “position-less basketball” structure. Xavier Tillman is slotted in the corner. While Vince Williams drives downhill, John Konchar floating nearby and drifts to the weak-side dunker’s spot. Once Tillman attacks the gamble, he causes a shift to the low-side defender, finding a crack to slip a bounce pass to Konchar for an easy layup.
The Grizzlies recognize advantage creation opportunities within transition offense — almost setting up a power play of sorts. Williams drives and kicks to the weak-side corner to Konchar. Konchar then attacks the closeout, and once Patrick Williams slides over to help, he hits a cutting David Roddy. Upon the catch, he finds Williams in the dunker’s spot for an easy bucket.
With the right personnel, a 5-out offense generates clean offensive looks, especially when all 5 guys can put the ball on the floor. Williams swings the ball to Santi Aldama on the weak-side. Aldama attacks the closeout and throws a sweet one-handed dime from the baseline. Once the scrambled defense rotates to Jackson, he makes the extra pass to Roddy for 3.
The Grizzlies have also been utilizing the wings in staggered screen actions — sometimes it’s a stagger away, and they can throw a twirl action in there. They’ve been leveraging the shooting prowess of Luke Kennard in these sets, as his gravity is even more evident through his heightened attention. It opens up so much optionality — setting the runway for a drive, or freeing up shooters through various screens (twirl in clip 2, pindown in clip 3).
They’ve also thrown in more wing-to-wing screen actions (or guard-to-guard, or wing-to-guard, however you want to spin it). Kennard sets a brush screen for Williams. The confusion creates a driving lane for Williams, who draws the low help and bounces a dish to Tillman for the dunk.
This style of basketball — a “position-less” model that creates spontaneity with player roles and responsibilities — should help this team grow individually into ideal, or more enhanced, roles.
One of the biggest beneficiaries in this stretch is Vince Williams Jr. Obviously his position-less style resonates more defensively, where he ranks 3rd in The B-Ball Index’s matchup difficulty metric. Now it’s showing in his offense. Over the past 5 games, he’s averaging 16.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.8 stocks on 50% shooting from the field (10.4 attempts peer game) and 39.3% from 3 (5.6 attempts per game).
His confidence is oozing at the moment. He’s letting it fly from 3 with little consciousness. He’s making more decisions off the bounce as both a scorer and a playmaker. Vince Williams described it as “care-free” basketball.
More intriguingly, the Grizzlies are trusting him with more playmaking responsibilities. Twenty-one of Williams’ 46 pick-and-roll’s have come since January 12 — the past 6 games, equating to about 3.5 per game.
The production show that he’s a ways away from being anything more than a tertiary — or emergency — playmaker. However, he’s showing good flashes with great reads as a PNR ball-handler.
Williams initiates transition offense off the defensive rebound. As he eases into the offense, he finds a cutting Tillman for a resounding dunk.
Again, nothing entirely flashy here, but these reps and his production as both a scorer and a playmaker are important for the next step in his career development. He won’t be tasked with scoring 15 points a night, but the Grizzlies need him to be a confident, accurate 3-point shooter. And when teams are closing out on his 3’s, he has create the next action off the bounce as a scorer or playmaker.
GG Jackson may be the biggest beneficiary here simply because he’s getting main-roster reps — and the coaching staff get a better gauge of how he fits with this team.
Jackson may not be much of an on-ball creator at this moment. Though he possesses the tantalizing tools to do so, he’s a 19-year-old player still catching up to the processing speed of the NBA. The most creation I could see him getting is through side-actions within the gears of the offense.
Where I really want to see Jackson deployed is as a screener and roller. In the short roll, he can showcase his creation juice and 3-level scoring in the short roll — whether it come against a smaller defender or against drop defense. However, he’s one of the only vertical threats left on the roster with his size and athleticism. This combination could unlock GG Jackson as a lethal screen-and-roll weapon — and with his 3-point shooting (46.2%, 12-26 — 10-18 on guarded catch-and-shoot 3’s), he could also pop off the screen.
Jackson has only ran 10 pick-and-rolls as the roll man through his time with the Grizzlies and the Hustle, converting on 5 of those 10 shot attempts — per Synergy Sports.
Jackson’s potential as a roll man lies within his cutting abilities. With the Hustle, he’s converted on 17 of his 19 scoring opportunities, generating 1.52 points per possession in 25 possessions as a cutter.
Again, minuscule sample size, but his vertical pop and explosiveness off the catch stand out from the outset. The Grizzlies should tap into it, as it best captures an ideal, scalable role for Jackson with a healthier roster.
David Roddy is also a player that could benefit off this position-less basketball method, simply because he’s a wing based off his size, but plays bigger than his 6’5” height due to his frame and physicality.
Roddy is one of the few players on this roster — perhaps the only player outside of the big 3 — capable of taking advantage of a stampede cut. He explodes off the catch, like a tight end in the red zone. He absorbs contact well and finds the right finishing angles in these actions.
Roddy is also one of the few wings on the roster that can be utilized like a big, a perk when sharing the floor with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama.
Like Jackson, I want to see Roddy utilized more in screen-and-roll actions. The results are shaky — 8/16 on shot attempts as a roll man (0.952 PPP in 21 actions, per Synergy Sports). Even with the lackluster production, it taps more into his skillset off the catch.
For example, pick-and-roll’s could generate switches where Roddy can get a favorable matchup. He create looks on the inside with his physicality and his footwork.
The Grizzlies use Roddy as the big in the delay action. He’s given proper spacing — Kennard on the strong side, big (Tillman) on the opposite side in dunker. From there, he has room to turn the corner on the fake DHO to attack the basket on his way to free throws.
David Roddy is an interesting player among the Grizzlies’ prospects. The verdict is less clear on him than Ziaire Williams, but he’s probably a tier from Vince Williams Jr. — while there’s still more room to judge on GG Jackson and Jake LaRavia (such a bummer he got hurt within this opportunity, by the way).
Roddy’s efficiency isn’t great. He’s shooting 57% at the rim and 48% on 2’s. Even though he’s shooting 38% on corner 3’s, his above-the-break accuracy and frequency (26% of his spots in “non-corner”) tank his 3-point percentage to 31.2. He’s quietly put together a strong stretch of games — averaging 11.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 45.5% from 3 (3.1 attempts per game) in the past 7 outings.
Finding out how to tap into Roddy’s skillet to find his proper utilization and boost his efficiency could help him get into a groove to close the season into the offseason.
Finally, Jaren Jackson Jr. is seizing the moment here. Without Ja Morant and Desmond Bane in the fold, he’s at the top of all scouting reports. In turn, it’s forcing him to be a better playmaker, and it’s paying off.
“Yeah, doing a lot of different things on the court game-to-game you never know,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “The posts were quiet because it’s doubles today. So, when you see that, you know, it’s just moving. But I can’t bring it up and then see three and then try to go through it all. What is that gonna do, you know?”
He’s posting a career-best 10.7 assist percentage — up from 4.8% last season, and his highest since his rookie year (7.4, per Cleaning the Glass). More intriguingly, his turnover percentage is down from 11.2 to 10.2%, ranking in the 83rd percentile among big men. He’s also averaging 2.8 assists in the 2024 calendar year (9 games).
Jackson has made very calculated reads thus far, illustrating growth when it comes to seeing double teams. Even this past season, Jackson was navigating how to attack double teams. Now, he’s getting off the ball quicker before the defense commits.
The Grizzlies have slotted Jaren Jackson Jr. and Luke Kennard on the same side in an empty corner — giving them space to operate however the defense reacts. If the defense sends a double at Jackson in the post — as done here — then they’re leaving Kennard open for 3. If they stay attached to Kennard, then Jackson has a world of space to operate with.
Jackson initiates the offense off the rebound. As he veers left, notice GG Jackson cutting. He draws the weak-side help to tag the cutter. Meanwhile, it leaves an open Jacob Gilyard in the corner, and Jackson lofts a pass over to him for a clean 3.
The Grizzlies are in a late shot-clock situation. Off the drive, instead of forcing a contested floater, Jackson draws the attention from the low-man and hits Roddy on the block for the layup.
Jackson drives off the catch. He draws the help at the nail to prevent the drive, so Jackson kicks back to Williams for an open catch-and-shoot 3.
Jackson coughs up a chunk of his turnovers with offensive fouls. Instead of barreling through the bucket on the spin move, he sees the double and kicks to Xavier Tillman for a corner 3.
Jackson likely won’t become his post playmaking hub we’ve seen from Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis now, or even Marc Gasol and Joakim Noah from year’s past. He doesn’t have to be though. All he needs to do is just be proactive with his reads through defensive coverage — getting off the ball early, passing out of doubles in the post, simply making the extra swing.
When the team is to its more actualized version of itself, opponents will need to second-guess their coverages on Jackson. Sending a double was nearly a possession-killer, because of Jackson’s passing abilities. Progression as a playmaker will force defenses to make a decision — double Jackson and open a look in the next action, or give one of the NBA’s most formidable post players an island to work with.
Jackson’s growth as a playmaker has been a positive trend in this “position-less basketball” model, as this area of improvement is one of the final steps in his development as a two-way big man.
The “position-less basketball” model isn’t going to be perfect. With its depleted frontcourt, they may be at a rebounding disadvantage more often than not. Without its 3 best playmakers, it may take longer to get into the gears of the offense.
However, it could lead to different looks created within the offense.
“We have a lot of positionless players including me,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “So you could find yourself anywhere especially depending on who’s matched up with who. It allows us to go at mismatches, go at different players, go at different coverages.”
It should lead to improvement across the board. With this ravaging injury situation, the coaching staff could be more creative in generating halfcourt offense — and potentially find some sustainable trends in the process. Players thrusted in different roles can build confidence towards the next steps in their games. The players and coaching staff can test different responsibilities that may be applicable in a scalable role on a healthier team.