The Grizzlies are looking good

The 5-7 Memphis Grizzlies will enter the game riding a three-game winning streak. They will be fresh off an exciting 107-106 win over the Utah Jazz, where they survived three Jazz players scoring 20 or more points thanks to holding them to just 35.8% shooting in the second half.

There’s good emphasis on how the Grizzlies prefer to take it to the paint this season. After all, they have fearless slasher Ja Morant, long-armed, two-way forward, Jaren Jackson Jr., towering big man Jonas Valanciunas, athletic rookie Brandon Clarke, and rising swingman Dillon Brooks. Each play an aggressive style of attack and it has led to the team ranking number one in points in the paint at 55 per game.

Ja Morant

The race for the Rookie of the Year award has “Ja Morant” written all over it. The 20-year-old is making the most of the opportunity and has done a good job showcasing his playmaking abilities, both in exploding through the basket and facilitating his teammates. He’s averaging 18.9 points and 6.1 assists per game through 11 games, which leads all rookies.

Here come the Nuggets

After a rather on-and-off start, the Denver Nuggets are finally playing like the number two seed from last year’s playoffs. They are now 8-3 and will come in having won four of their five road games and winners in five of their last six outings.

Much of the turnaround can be credited to the slow, 29th-ranked pace they are running, which messes up the usual uptempo style of today’s game, as well as the hounding defense that has held three of their last five opponents to under 38%-shooting.

Jamal Murray (17.4 PPG, 4.8 PPG, 4.5 APG) and Nikola Jokic (17.1 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 5.8 APG) are each playing their roles well despite their numbers being lower than expected. It has also led to Will Barton having the best start of his career as he is currently on a stretch where he’s putting up 17.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

PREDICTION:

The Nuggets snap the Grizzlies three-game winning streak through another balanced attack. Murray and the Denver guards, however, will have a good welcome as to how Morant can be in the future.