Pick-and-Pop: Parsons’ ‘progress,’ weekend notes, more – The Commercial Appeal

Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons was hard on himself after playing a back-to-back for the first time this season. Ronald Tillery/The Commercial Appeal

Dallas Mavericks' Seth Curry (30) defends as Memphis Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons (25) moves to the basket for a shot during the first half oin Dallas, Friday, March 3, 2017.(Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP)

Some post-weekend Grizzlies thoughts:

Parsons Progress: Chandler Parsons played his first back-to-back of the season, and his second most individual-game minutes of the season against Dallas, with 9 points on 4-16 shooting in 44 minutes over both games and the same physical limitations weve seen all season.

Was simply playing the back-to-back a sign of progress, as it was touted, or a sign of the team trying to force some progress as the clock ticks toward the playoffs?

The storm and stress surrounding the Parsons question is getting a little tiresome. Its not about his now-dormant social media, his off-court adventures, how hard he works, how early he shows up or how late he stays at practice, or whether shutting down for the season would be theact of a coward, to choose his own word. This is not an issue of morality or machismo. Its a simple two-part question: 1. Is Parsons healthy enough to be on the court? The answer to that is apparently yes. 2. Is he healthy enough to help the team when hes there? So, far the answer to that is no, with no particular reason to believe that will change in the next few weeks. And yet context complicates.

One thing that props up an apparently indefinite patience with Parsons lack of progress is the battery of alternatives. Last week in this space, I worked through some lineup alternatives, which on the wing would mean James Ennis, Vince Carter, or Troy Daniels. None of them, at this stage, should be a starter on aplayoff team.

Theres a two-part opportunity cost to continuing to play Parsons despite his ineffectiveness: 1. That the team has consistently been worse with Parsons on the floor than with the players who would take his minutes, and the games now matter if the team cares about maximizing its playoff seeding. 2. If Parsons is still this player come mid-April, its hard to believe hell maintain this role in the playoffs, so the team is just delaying the process of settling on the lineup and rotation it will use in the postseason and getting that rotation some reps.

If were making this about the team, and not about Parsons, which is how the discussion should be centered, then theres this counter-argument in favor ofthe status quo: The alternatives arent much better than even the current Parsons. Carter and Daniels have each shot below 36 percent over their past 10 games, in a rotation role, and each has definite limitations at full health. Daniels isnt just squeezed by Parsons, but by Toney Douglas taking over a big chunk of back-up scoring guard minutes, a development that is lessabout Douglas individual production than abouthow his ball-handling has helped maximize Mike Conleys impact. Ennis has mostly been out of the rotation lately, but his own limitations are exposed when he gets heavy minutes.

The math for Parsons at this point: That the slim chance of him yet improving with playing time presents a greater path to post-season upside than the minor improvements to be found in benching him. No one with the Grizzlies is going to put it that plainly, but thats the calculation, and it could well be the right one.

A Two-Man Game Wed Love to See: In the playground of our dreams if not on an NBA court.

Other Weekend Notes: Both weekend losses are easy to rationalize individually: This Dallas Mavericks team, with Nerlens Noel, Seth Curry and Yogi Ferrell all in the lineup, is far better than the teams full-season record indicates, and even that record is good enough to be in the playoff hunt. A four-point loss on the road to that team is no disgrace. Neither is running out of gas on the second night of a road back-to-back against a relentless Rockets team.

The problem with that, as noted after last weekends road split: Acceptable isnt good enough if the Grizzlies still harbor hopes of moving up in the Western Conference playoff race. Record-wise, the NBAs three best teams are all in the West, and getting into the 4-5 game and avoiding those teams should be the goal. The Grizzlies cant play at the level theyve shown since the All-Star break and get there.

While the attention has been on Parsons, the biggest concern at the moment might be Marc Gasol. The Grizzlies can hope for secondary help, but this season has shown they cant depend on it. They need the Gasol-Mike Conley-Zach Randolph trio to carry them.

Gasol struggled defensively with younger, quicker centers in Dallas Noel and Houstons Clint Capella over the weekend and has been erratic on the offensive end for the past month. Hes topped 23 points in a game 20 times this season, but only once in the past month, and that in a home routagainst Phoenix, one of the NBAs very worst defenses.

Over the weekend, Gasol played 36 minutes in each half of a back-to-back. Setting aside his recovery from foot surgery, hes a 32-year-old center. Hes 17th in the NBA so far this season in total minutes. The only older players in the Top 20(and both just barely) are Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James. The only centers who have played more are Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, ages 21 and 24, respectively. Gasol scoffs at such things, but is it unreasonable to wonder if hes worn down some?

Gasols three-point shooting percentages per month:

Regression to the mean? Slump? Random variance? Fatigue? All answers are possible. But for the Grizzlies to be good down the stretch and competitive in the playoffs, a return of All-NBA caliber Gasol is mandatory.

Elsewhere in the Playoff Race: The Grizzlies have been helped by Oklahoma Citys inability to win on the road. The Thunder went 0-3 on a long-weekend road trip and only the Indiana Pacers have been worse on the road among teams with winning records overall. This has helped the Grizzlies maintain a full game lead over the Thunder despite their own struggles, but the Thunder will play six of their next eight back at home.

The Clippers have been playing .500 ball for a while now, and the return of Chris Paul hasnt (yet) changed that. They have a tough one at home tonight against Boston before coming into Memphis for a big game on Thursday, on the second half of a road back-to-back.

The Jazz were my preseason pick to jump from the lottery to the Wests Top 4 and they seem to be strengthening their grip, building a three-game lead over the Grizzlies. But their schedule takes a much tougher turn after tonights home game against New Orleans. Standings as of today:

Game Minus Presentation?: So this happened over the weekend, and this reaction from Friend of Pick-and-Pop Tim Bontemps was common among full-time NBA media:

This would be a fun experiment for one game (and it happened in Memphis by accident for half a game last season), but I cant fully get behind the general idea. As a music nerd, I like the snippets Grizzlies DJs expertly sprinkle into game action (favorites: David Bowie, Tribe Called Quest, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth). I like Mike Conleys Dad Jokes and Zach Randolphs Deep Thoughts. I like Bongo Lady and the Mike Conley Road Runner beep-beep, the ceremonial fourth quarter Whoomp! There It Is! and the occasional well-earned deployment of the Gap Band. This isnt just a Serious Sporting Event. Its a community party. There are elements of game presentation I dont like or, much more often, just dont care about, and I find it easy to tune those things out. No harm done.

All of that said, there is one aspect of game presentation Id march on the frontlines against: Can we please lower the volume on pre-game, in-arena music? I cant hear myself think, much less have a human conversation. I dont need to be engaged during the pregame shoot-around. I can fend for myself.

100 (Or So) Word Preview: The Grizzlies dont just need to start stringing together wins, they need to start playing better. But theres no upside tonight as the NBAs worst team, the Brooklyn Nets, make their lone FedExForum appearance of the season. The Grizzlies need to notch this win and to do so without strain or drama. A big win, as against Phoenix last week, wont really mean much. It just has to happen. If youre desperate for intrigue: Which center, Marc Gasol or Brooklyns Brook Lopez, makes more threes? If you want to worry: Best bet for being tonights Sam Dekker or Doug McDermott, the secondary wing scorer who has a career night? Keep an eye on Sean Kilpatrick.

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Pick-and-Pop: Parsons' 'progress,' weekend notes, more - The Commercial Appeal