Steven Adams is back to piece it all together
Steven Adams' impact was felt after his season-ending injury. Now he's back to help the Memphis Grizzlies piece it all together.
If you didn’t realize how important Steven Adams was to the Memphis Grizzlies, his season-ending knee injury last season reinforced it. Once the Kiwi big man hurt his knee in the final minutes of a comeback effort, the Grizzlies transformed — statistically — from an elite squad to a mere solid one.
The Grizzlies sported a 31-15 record (67.4 winning percentage, 55-win pace) prior to his injury, and they were 20-16 (55.6 winning percentage, 46-win pace) for the remainder of the season. They were also 7.7 points per 100 possessions better with Adams on the floor than off, the second-best mark on the team, per Cleaning the Glass.
“It can’t be measured,” Desmond Bane said of Adams’ impact.
Adams can be best described as the glue of this team — a connective part of the system that pieces it all together. His strengths are among the most overlooked intricacies of basketball to the casual eye, but it shouldn’t affect its value. He does the little things that amplify the team’s skillsets and alleviate areas of improvement to provide a boost to this team.
Obviously, the physicality he plays with on both sides of the floor, what he can do to unlock your pick-and-roll game, what he can do to create extra life for us obviously on the boards, we missed that a lot as well. - Taylor Jenkins
Starting with his offense, his greatest asset on this end of the floor is his rebounding. Adams averaged a league-leading 5.1 offensive rebounds per game last season, becoming the 7th player in NBA history to have multiple seasons with an average of 5 or higher. The Grizzlies hauled in offensive rebounds on 11% more possessions with Adams on the floor than off — the highest mark of any player that played at least 500 minutes last year, per Cleaning the Glass.
Adams is phenomenal at leveraging his imposing size with the technical elements of rebounding.
“For a big, he’s very technically sound — he’s very strategic with all the things that he knows,” Tillman said — also acknowledging Adams’ ability to use an opponent’s weight and momentum to his advantage.
Because of his offensive rebounding prowess, he helps the Grizzlies maintain the possession advantage and generate second-chance offense. It has helped prop up a half-court offense in dire need of improvements. In a league with an emphasis on pace, and maintaining the edge in it, having multiple outlets to win the possession battle is vital. With Steven Adams, they could ensure the advantage on the glass.
“He’s huge,” David Roddy said. “It’s definitely a safety net for sure. He’s the best rebounder in the league, the best offensive rebounder. It’s something we focus on, we try to pride ourselves on.”
Steven Adams often serves as a high-post hub. His screening and playmaking are key weapons that allow for spacing and for optionality in its halfcourt offense.
Adams is an elite screener, likely the best in the NBA. Over the past two seasons, Adams has led the NBA in screen assists per 75 possessions, among players that played at least 1000 minutes in each year (7.6, 99th percentile, per The B-Ball Index). Running into him is the equivalent of hitting a brick wall, leaving defenders with no workaround. He opens up space to get downhill or comfortably fire the 3-ball, most evident through his two-man game with Ja Morant and Desmond Bane — no coincidence Bane and Adams led the NBA in NET rating among all duos last season.
His playmaking often comes within dribble handoff’s, allowing him to blend with his screening. However, the Grizzlies have tapped into his vision and creativity in split actions to lead cutters to the basket. It’s a tool often deployed in fake DHO’s or give-and-go’s.
Adams illustrated more comfortability and growth in the system defensively last season. He provided elite rim protection for the Grizzlies last season. Through 8.36 rim contests per 75 possessions (91st percentile, per The B-Ball Index), Adams saved 1.8 rim points per 75 possessions, which fell in the 100th percentile among big men. Offensive players also shot 11.9% worse at the rim with Adams as the primary protector, ranking in The B-Ball Index’s 99th percentile.
“Defensively, I thought he took a huge step last year as well,” Jenkins said. “Just continue to have another guy out there that can protect the paint, not just with his rebounding but ability to alter shots, the physicality in the pick-and-roll game, challenging him to accept different coverages that we’re going to need him to execute as the season goes on.”
Adams is an imposing presence when defending the paint, and in pick-and-roll’s, he’s not entirely switchable, but he understands angles and stands ground enough to be formidable in those situations.
More importantly, he allows the Grizzlies to deploy its most successful defensive scheme: Jaren Jackson roaming. Adams’ size and technique gives the Grizzlies another credible big man defender to throw at the league’s elite big men — and most 5’s — so Jackson can serve as a weak-side rim protector. When successful, the Grizzlies have two 7-footers at the rim ready to alter shots — good luck with that, daring driver.
Steven Adams’ two-way skillset helps connect pieces together to help the Memphis Grizzlies operate at full capacity.
When it comes to piecing things together off the court, Adams is another veteran leader in the locker room. How he continues to utilize his voice and his knowledge will be an asset for this young Grizzlies team. Taylor Jenkins mentioned how Adams has been thinking about his place on his team, particularly through his voice.
Not just using what he does physically basketball-wise, but what can you do with his intellect and his basketball IQ and how he’s been communicating with the guys, helping the young guys grow, but also just as we’re adopting some new things offensively, how he’s pouring into that as well to make it a great fit for him and for everyone else.
And Steven Adams offers great knowledge and insight on what to pour into for the young guys on the team.
“He’s very good at knowing who he’s talking to,” Xavier Tillman said of Adams’ leadership style. “He knows with me, he can get on me and I’ll be able to take it. With other guys, he can’t. He’s really good at adjusting at what the player needs to get the message across.”
As the Grizzlies’ young big men grow and develop into larger roles, Adams’ leadership and insight will be valuable for a youthful squad looking to progress in their journey towards a championship.
You are correct — I cannot finish this breakdown without mentioning the knee.
Steven Adams is a 30-year old big man coming off a PCL sprain that ended his season last year, and at the team’s Media Day, there were still discussions of a ramp-up process — which sure doesn’t sound encouraging. His preseason output has been a good start, as they have veered caution with his minutes and games played.
How Adams continues to progress through his recovery with his knee will be monitored within the next few weeks going into the regular season — minutes, back-to-back’s, and overall response. From there, we will see how he continues to impact this game — and to what degree. How will his step look? What will his defense look like? Is there age or injury-related regression on the way? Those are questions that are fair, and will be answered.
Nonetheless, it’ll be great to see Steven Adams back out on the floor. Despite the unknowns regarding his post-injury production, we do know exactly how he impacts winning for the Grizzlies.
“We’re excited, because he just does so much on the floor with his size, presence, playmaking, everything,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said of his frontcourt mate.
Evident through his absence last season, Steven Adams is a glue that helps piece everything together for a Memphis Grizzlies team looking to achieve postseason success.
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