Ja Morant's suspension is over. The Grizzlies' season is not.

The play-in is going to save Memphis.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Nocturne; James McNeill Whistler; 1870-77

The Memphis Grizzlies began the season without Ja Morant, who was suspended 25 games due to gunplay and other unsavory behavior. Then the Grizzlies, already down an impact center in Brandon Clarke, lost starting center Steven Adams for the season. Then the Grizzlies, who had washed their hands of controversial 3-and-D starter Dillon Brooks in free agency and traded away the best back-up point guard in the league in Tyus Jones, lost their collective replacement in Marcus Smart to an injury for a month plus.

Desmond Bane (putting up All-Star numbers) and Jaren Jackson Jr. tried their best to salvage what remained. But what remained was not nearly good enough. The Memphis Grizzlies are 6-19. Morant will make his 2023-24 debut on TNT Tuesday against the Pelicans (7:30 PM Eastern).

Despite that hideous record, there is definitely a path to the postseason for Memphis.

In the previous three seasons — going back to Morant’s second year in the NBA, 2020-21, the post-bubble year — Memphis won 61% of its games. That includes a season with Jonas Valanciunas instead of Adams. It includes a season that JJJ basically missed entirely. It includes Bane’s rookie season, a good amount of Kyle Anderson and Grayson Allen and De’Anthony Melton. This is all to say that it’s not a reflection of the current roster. But it is a reflection of the quality of a Morant-led team in recent years. If you can squint enough to believe a developed Bane and healthy JJJ, and one hopes a recovered Smart, can make up for the center problems and overall depleted depth, then you can believe this is still a 61% win rate team.

Memphis has 57 games left. Winning about 61% of them would mean they go 35-22. With their current six wins and 19 losses, that would leave them 41-41 on the season. .500.