How Tuomas Iisalo relies on Ty Jerome to save the season

Given that their season is going in the wrong direction and that the position of the Western Conference is getting tighter by the day, Tuomas Iisal’s Memphis Grizzlies are increasingly looking for relief valves. That’s why That Jerome’s return was so important. After missing the first 46 games of the season with a high strain in his right calf, the veteran guard finally made his Beale Street debut on Jan. 31 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

As the Grizzlies lost their sixth straight game, Jerome provided a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dismal campaign. In just 20 minutes of action on a strict minute limit, Iisalo saw the light.

“Pretty impressive stat line, 20 points in 20 minutes, six assists. (Ti Jerome) did all the things we expected him to do for us this season. Create off the pick-and-roll, also be a threat off the ball and open up space for other guys,” Iisalo noted. “Especially against a team like this that plays in a lot of these, call them conservative coverages where the big returns, and you need the receiver and the screener to have enough creation that they don’t have to rely on the team’s reactions, but they create a two-on-one situation, they create enough good looks. And Ty is definitely that guy, and he’s been that guy throughout his career.”

Those “conservative coverages” have been a constant problem for the Grizzlies. Opponents have relaxed their bigs, daring the Grizzlies to beat them with accuracy rather than pace. Jerome’s comfort in manipulating the pick-and-roll, dribbles, pulling a defender into no-man’s land, then finding a screener or weak-side shooter can produce effective shots without having to attack through multiple actions. When defenses lean toward him, the spacing he creates unlocks cleaner looks for shooters and throws for rollers.

However, the reality is, of course, that one player, especially a point guard who is on a minutes-restricted injury layoff for three months, cannot single-handedly save a season that was headed for disaster. The Grizzlies are 18-29 with the NBA trade deadline looming and a tough schedule ahead of them. Even if Jerome stays healthy and returns to his Cleveland form, significant questions remain about Ja Morant’s future with the franchise, Zach Edey’s availability and whether Iisal’s coaching style can succeed in the NBA.

As the All-Star break approaches, all eyes are on Jerome. In a league where superstars dominate the headlines, unsung contributors like him often write the redemption stories. For Grizzlies Tuomas Iisal, Ty Jerome could be the savior of the season.