Grizzlies’ Revenge Tour Continues Wednesday Against Phoenix.
After picking up their eighth win in ten games against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Memphis Grizzlies will have payback at the front of their mind when they host two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and his Phoenix Suns.
The Grizzlies have 33 wins right now, yet are 0-2 against Phoenix. Before the Clippers game on Monday night, Memphis was 0-2 against them as well. Same for the Thunder last Monday, but the Grizzlies were 0-3 against them.
It can’t be a good feeling to drop so many games against other playoff caliber teams, but Memphis is finally adding some resume wins and every game that someone like Zach Randolph plays and plays well in, the more playoff potential this edition of the team shows.
The book on Phoenix is the same as it’s been since 2004: stop Steve Nash and you will thrive. Easier said than done, of course, but if the Grizzlies can keep the Suns from getting fat in transition, they will the game.
Tonight’s game will showcase two of the hottest teams in the league. We’ve already discussed the Grizzlies recent tear against stout competition in the past three weeks, but the Suns have won five out of six and seven out of ten. That could be as good as eight out of ten if the Suns hadn’t blown a late lead in Denver last Friday night.
Adding insult to injury, the Nuggets are a team that the Suns are in direct competition with for the 8 seed in the stacked Western Conference. In fact, the Suns are just one game behind Denver for the last playoff spot, meaning that if Phoenix had held that lead they would be a playoff team at this moment, but are right now on the outside looking in. Such is life in the NBA.
If the Suns are sitting at home watching the playoffs this spring, they need look no further than them being 12-19 after a loss to the Lakers on Friday, February 17. At the time, there were trade rumors surrounding Nash, only their leader and franchise player. Such a move would have effectively ended their season and kicked off Phoenix’s rebuilding process, bringing to a close one of the most entertaining eras in NBA history.
As I mentioned earlier, Phoenix has won both games against the Grizzlies this season, both in Phoenix. The first game was a close, back-and-forth game all the way that the Suns clinched on two late Jared Dudley free throws. Phoenix won 86-84.
In the second game, the Grizzlies were in the midst of a good stretch of ball, that had culminated with the return of Randolph to the starting lineup, yet they dropped a game to a Suns team that hadn’t yet started their late season run, and actually started the Grizzlies on a downward spiral, as they left Phoenix and lost six of their next eight.
The Suns probably need the game more, but if the Grizzlies play with the chip on their shoulder that they’ve had for the past two weeks, they can move ever closer to having home-court advantage in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.
My prediction:
Suns: 90
Grizzlies: 102