The path forward for the Grizzlies has now been made clear. As a dense morning fog lifts to reveal a snow-covered, serenity-steeped landscape, as the nighttime clouds part to reveal a fully-shining moon previously only hinted at by beams of light poking through the cloudcover, as a heavy fall shower rinses away the dust and leaves to reveal foliage still proudly attempting to retain its verdancy, so too has Jonas Valanciunas’ arrival in Memphis illuminated a previously darkened path.
The Grizzlies have to give Valanciunas all the touches he wants and more. He has shown himself to be an adept scorer inside, and while his outside game mainly consists of those gross-looking pumpfakes and the occasional prayer of a three-point attempt, that doesn’t mean that you can’t try to establish him as the main scorer on the team.
Mike Conley has long worn that mantle, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind relinquishing it for the final third of the season. He’s getting a bit older now and if he could take a few possessions off by dumping the ball down to Valanciunas and then just standing to the side, I bet he’d be all for that.
I admit, I have selfish purposes for suggestion this course of events. Every Jonas Valanciunas video I make gets hella view counts from Lithuanians and other viewers who are interested in him. If he shot eighteen to twenty shots a game, my highlight enterprise would be booming.
Hopefully somebody on the Grizzlies coaching staff is reading this. If they’re not, could a Grizzlies fan please buy a ticket near their bench and yell out my suggestions to them?