From Deep: With Grizzlies' Jaren Jackson Jr. sidelined to start year, Ja Morant's group goes back to the grind

Memphis ascended to the top tier of the West last year, and now it must claw its way back

The Memphis Grizzlies started the 2013-14 season in a 10-15 hole. They had a new coach, Dave Joerger, and an injured star, Marc Gasol. Searching for a spark, they traded Jerryd Bayless for Courtney Lee and called up James Johnson from what was then known as the D-League. Joerger broke down the schedule week by week and gave the team smaller goals: Win two of the next three, then three of the next four.

By the time Gasol came back, the Grizzlies had begun to find themselves. They finished the season on a 40-17 tear, good enough to squeak into the playoffs as the seventh seed.

The next season, Mike Conley suffered a gruesome facial fracture in Game 3 of the first round, but Memphis won the series in five anyway. The lesson: Never count out the Grizzlies.