Herrington: As injuries and losses mount, the Grizzlies season could be taking a turn
Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward (23) returns to the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Ethan Swope/AP)
Chris Herrington
Chris Herrington has covered the Memphis Grizzlies, in one way or another, since the franchise’s second season in Memphis, while also writing about music, movies, food and civic life. As far as he knows, he’s the only member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association who is also a member of a film critics group and has also voted in national music critic polls for Rolling Stone and the Village Voice (RIP). He and his wife have two kids and, for reasons that sometimes elude him, three dogs.
As midseason approaches, the questions of what the Grizzlies can accomplish and what they should want to accomplish are now intersecting uncomfortably, with five of the next six games against teams with winning records.
There’s one big subject — on top of the injuries — that’s becoming unavoidable in the context of “competing but coming up short.” But before wading into that, I want to highlight a quartet of more micro trends:
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Memphis Grizzlies Cedric Coward Ja Morant Cam Spencer Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Subscriber OnlyThank you for being a subscriber to The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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