A healthy Steven Adams has been identified as the key ingredient required for Memphis Grizzlies to bounce back from their early NBA playoff elimination to Los Angeles Lakers.
The second-ranked Grizzlies (51-31) were toppled 4-2 by a team that struggled for most of the season and needed to win a play-in game to even reach the playoffs as the seventh seeds in the Western Conference.
The result was particularly galling, given their supreme confidence mid-season, when superstar Ja Morant declared he was "fine in the west", an act of disrespect to his rivals that has come back to haunt the young team.
Kiwi centre Adams was in the form of his life, when he suffered a knee injury in January that saw him miss the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, leaving a void that Memphis struggled to fill, especially when back-up Brandon Clarke tore his Achilles tendon in early March.
"It starts with us pretty much getting healthy," admitted Morant, after their exit. "That's the No.1 thing for us.
"You have Stevo coming back and a problem in this series was rebounding. Before he went out, he was pretty much the best rebounder in the league.
"BC, with what he brings for us off the bench... that's another big body who helps us."
Adams, 29, was averaging a career-high 11.5 rebounds and lead the competition in offensive boards, when he went down.
Off the court, the Grizzlies had to overcome a gun incident that saw Morant miss several games near the end of the regular season and an injury that kept him out of Game Two against the Lakers - ironically, a home win.
They lost sharpshooter Luke Kennard, arguably the NBA's top three-point specialist, for their crucial elimination game and probably didn't help themselves by poking the bear, with forward Dillon Brooks taunting Lakers superstar LeBron James throughout the series.
Despite his injury, Adams tried to stay active within the team environment, warning them about their bad road-trip behaviour, even before Morant's social media gun post.
