The Memphis Grizzlies will have to play without a starting center for the time being.
According to ESPN.com, Memphis’ ‘Big Kiwi’ Stephen Adams (center, 211cm, 120kg) injured his right knee.
Adams is out for the time being with a posterior cruciate ligament sprain in his right knee. Having already missed an away game against the Sacramento Kings on the 24th (Korean time), he is expected to be absent for more than three weeks. He may be away for up to five weeks.
With Adams’ injury, Memphis has made it difficult to maintain the inside power. In the match against Sacramento, Javier Tillman Senior, a backup center, played as the starting pitcher. However, Memphis lost by a whopping 33 points to Sacramento that day. With a lot of weight from inside and a lot of experience that no other player in the club has, his departure is painful in many ways.
Adams has appeared in 42 games this season before getting injured. He recorded 8.6 points (.597 .000 .364), 11.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks in 27 minutes per game. Having been involved with Memphis since last season, he is showing better performance this season. He has his best record in his last three seasons since leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder. 스포츠토토
With him, Jaren Jackson Jr. can focus more on offense. Adams took on the dirty work as a companion under the goal of Jackson, the representative big man of Memphis. As he has throughout his career, he’s a force to be reckoned with at Memphis, and with a team that has a lot of young players, his role isn’t limited to the court. It’s not his core power, but here’s why his colon is deadly.
Memphis was also satisfied with Adams’ performance last season. Young players are the majority, so Adams helped a lot. Accordingly, Memphis agreed to a contract extension with him prior to this season. Memphis agreed to a two-year, $25.2 million contract for the duration of his contract. His previous contract was scheduled to expire at the end of this season, but with the addition of a new contract, he will remain as a Memphis Man until the 2024-2025 season.
His salary this season is about $17.92 million. However, the contract signed before the season is smaller than the contract signed previously (two years, $35 million). As for his salary after this season, Gong will receive $12.6 million. It’s a relatively club-friendly deal, and on the contrary, it’s telling if Adams is content to continue his career in Memphis.
Meanwhile, Memphis may promote Kenneth Lofton Jr., who is tied up in a two-way deal, to maintain a stable under-the-goal power. However, as Denny Green, who is injured, can return in early February, it is expected that Green will be added to the full force in the future. It is worth expecting Green to play a role on and off the court as an old man.