Santi Aldama's performance vs Celtics gives Memphis Grizzlies new lineup option

Santi Aldama clenched his jaw and cringed as he sat at the podium and recalled his most pivotal mistake Sunday against the Boston Celtics.

The Memphis Grizzlies big man had the ball, with the game tied and a little more than a minute left in the fourth quarter. He drove to the basket and flipped a behind-the-back pass — right into Celtics forward Jaylen Brown's hands.

The Celtics scored the game-winning basket on the next possession and defeated the Grizzlies 102-100 at FedExForum.

"I was really trying to find the open man and I know Ziaire (Williams) told me he was cutting," Aldama said. "I should have probably stopped. I jumped off of one foot, so I put myself in a bad position. . . . If I would have stopped with two feet, I would have probably found Ziaire and got him a dunk, so just got to be better at reading that."

The one mistake was crucial, but even that didn't overshadow the encouraging performance Aldama put together. In fact, if his wide-open 3-point attempt in the final five seconds would have gone in, the turnover would have long been forgotten.

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Aldama finished with a career-high 28 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. He put together the performance after being added to the Grizzlies' starting lineup.

"Spectacular," Desmond Bane said of Aldama's performance. "He's continuing to get better. I tell him all the time how happy I am for him and the things he's doing on the court now. You see, he's dynamic. He can do a bunch of different things on the floor."

Constant injuries and lineup changes have afflicted the Grizzlies, but at least for now, it looks like they have found a starting five that can accomplish most of the team's goals. Aldama started at small forward, meaning the Grizzlies put out a jumbo-sized frontcourt that included Jaren Jackson Jr. and Bismack Biyombo.

Xavier Tillman Sr. didn't play as he recovers from a left knee injury, and the Grizzlies also dealt with foul trouble. Jackson and Biyombo both had three fouls before the end of the second quarter and four fouls in the third. In Biyombo's case, he picked up a fifth foul in the third.

That cleared the way for Kenneth Lofton Jr. to get 13 minutes, but it was Aldama who filled in the most. He played a game-high 39 minutes and spent time at small forward, power forward and center.

"It's very different playing 3, 4 and 5," Aldama said. "Obviously with the 3, you're guarding smaller guys and faster guys, it was obviously a challenge. I just think the spacing factor is really big."

Later, he added: "I think we just got to get used to having these three almost 7-footers on the floor, but I think in the long run, especially if we're able to switch 1 through 5, it's going to be good for us."

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Aldama's ability to space the floor and knock down six 3-pointers made the jumbo lineup work. Defensively, it was an advantageous group, too.

The Celtics have one of the NBA's highest-rated offenses, but Memphis held them to 102 points, which was their lowest scoring output of the season.

"That's three defensive-minded players out there with Jaren, (Biyombo) and (John Konchar)," Bane said. "Santi has size, and I'm going to compete as well. We got the ability to do a bunch of things on the floor and switch up coverages just because everybody has size and are smart guys willing to be in the right spots and put their body on the line."

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins doesn't want to make many more lineup changes. He's hoping to stick with a group for continuity purposes, and the new-look lineup with Aldama at small forward has started out with promising results.

Marcus Smart and Ja Morant are still at least three weeks from returning, but Tillman and Luke Kennard (knee soreness) should be back soon. Add Derrick Rose, who sat the second night of the back-to-back, and maybe the Grizzlies can build on Sunday's encouraging performance.

"It's coming along," Bane said. "It's a work in progress. I think that we're continuing to learn and understand what it takes."

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Santi Aldama might be new big starting option for Memphis Grizzlies