Three things critical to the Memphis Grizzlies' hopes of getting into playoff conversation

A whirlwind of a calendar year has come to a close for the Memphis Grizzlies. They started the year battling the Denver Nuggets for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Then injuries and off-court troubles took most of the headlines as the Grizzlies sit in the 13th spot of the Western Conference standings.

With those troubles hopefully behind them and the roster as healthy as it has been this season, Sunday's game against the Sacramento Kings felt like the time to turn the page. But the issues that plagued the Grizzlies most of this season resurfaced as the Kings pulled away to win 123-92 at FedExForum.

After the Grizzlies won their first four games following Ja Morant's return from his suspension on Dec. 19, they have lost three straight. All three have come against teams currently projected to make the playoffs in the Western Conference.

In order to reach their playoff goals, the Grizzlies (10-22) will need to perform better against the upper-echelon competition in the conference.

Here are three New Year's resolutions for the team.

A healthy roster

Steven Adams hasn't played a regular-season game since January, and he is out for this season because of his knee injury. Brandon Clarke has been out since March because of his Achilles. But for the first time this season, Memphis has every other player on the roster available.

Morant and Derrick Rose played point guard for the majority of the game against the Kings. This allowed Memphis to play at its preferred speed, and Desmond Bane was at his natural shooting guard position.

Having a healthy roster helps the Grizzlies align their players at their preferred positions, but it's also needed while they play catch-up in the rankings.

"It's going to be tough," Morant said. "Around this time, it's a lot of games. . . . It's tough to be able to have that practice time. You don't want to tear down the players' bodies too much, so obviously it's going to be a process."

Fixing rebounding woes

Memphis had been one of the NBA's best rebounding teams under coach Taylor Jenkins, but not this season. One game after Clippers center Ivica Zubac compiled a 20-rebound night against Memphis, Kings center Domantas Sabonis had 13 points and 21 rebounds.

Fixing the rebounding woes doesn't seem as simple as just executing better. Adams was one of the NBA's best rebounders, and he isn't walking on to the floor to save the day. The Grizzlies may need to pursue trade candidates to bolster the center position and rebounding.

"I don't think we got our first offensive rebound until the end of the game with (Xavier Tillman Sr.)," Jenkins said. "We got to get (Bismack Biyombo) on the boards, we got to get Jaren (Jackson Jr.) on the boards."

Elite shooting and spacing

After the Grizzlies won 56 games two seasons ago, better shooting was a major emphasis. Santi Aldama entered the rotation when Kyle Anderson departed, and they drafted David Roddy and Jake LaRavia. Those two haven't quite panned out as above league-average shooters, but the Grizzlies do have Luke Kennard back healthy. He made five of his eight 3-point attempts in Sunday's loss. The rest of the team shot 7-for-32 on 3-pointers.

Better shooting will lead to better spacing, which will allow the Grizzlies to play to their strengths of being a dynamic scoring team in the paint.

"With Luke on the floor, you have way more floor space," Morant said. "First game back, he came in and been Luke . . . Teams help off of him . . . and if they stay home, we know we got driving lanes to get into the paint."

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Three things the Memphis Grizzlies need to begin the new year right