If the Grizzlies are going to make a run for the playoffs they need to get more from their rookies who get a lot of the bench minutes for the team. Forward Sam Young has played the best ball of the rookies this season for the Grizzlies. He has played in 54 games (1 start) in which he has averaged 16.2 minutes, 7.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Power forward DeMarre Carroll needs to step up if he wants to keep getting P.T. Carroll has played in 52 games (1 start) for the Grizzlies this season and he is averaging 11.9 minutes, 3.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game on 39.3% shooting from the floor. The Grizzlies are bringing center Hasheem Thabeet along slowly. He has played in 50 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies this season and he is averaging 10.3 minutes, 2.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.1 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. On the plus side, Thabeet is shooting 58% from the floor this year. Shooting guard Lester Hudson started the season with the Celtics. He has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies and he is averaging 7.4 minutes, 4.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game on 38.2% shooting from the floor. Overall for the Celtics & Grizzlies, Hudson has played in 24 games (0 starts) in which he is averaging 5.4 minutes, 2.3 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

Ronnie Brewer didn’t last too long for the Grizzlies before getting hurt. He partially tore his right hamstring in his first game with the Grizzlies and he will be out indefinitely. This is a bad break for the Grizzlies who traded a future first round pick for Brewer knowing that he would inject good talent into the bench which is young. Brewer played 12 minutes in his first game with the Grizzlies and he scored 2 points, grabbed 1 rebound and he stole the ball twice. This is a big loss for the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies have acquired 24-year old SG/SF Ronnie Brewer from the Jazz for a protected first round pick in the 2011 draft. Brewer played in 53 games (all starts) for the Jazz this season and he was averaging 31.4 minutes, 9.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has now played in 266 games (223 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 26.4 minutes, 10.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. This was a great trade for the Grizzlies as Brewer will likely serve as the sixth man the rest of the year.

The Grizzlies are on the hunt for bench help at the trade deadline. They have a great starting five but the bench is really young and that could hurt them as they are trying to make the playoffs. The Grizzlies are armed with some nice draft picks this June and that is what they will likely bring to the table in trade talks. They should be looking for teams that are willing to dump talented players with the idea of getting younger.

Power forward Zach Randolph has fit in perfectly with the younger players on the Grizzlies. He has played in 51 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies this season and he is averaging 37.5 minutes, 20.5 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Randolph has been excellent on the court for the Grizzlies and he hasn’t caused any problems off the court. He had a reputation of being a selfish player but I have not seen any of that in Memphis.