Tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies will look to rebound from some tough losses against the Dallas Mavericks. What can be expected from their third matchup this year?
It’s starting to look like all of these years of overachieving may be finally catching up to the Memphis Grizzlies.
After a strong start to the season, the Memphis Grizzlies currently sit at 7-9 in the 8th seed in the Western Conference. They’ve also won only two games of their last 10 games and have struggled mightily on both ends of the court. Due to his recurring achilles injury, Mike Conley will still be out for at least the next week and a half. If things continue to go badly, Marc Gasol will probably explode in a fit of rage, and no amount of Catholic crosses will be able to stop it.
mood pic.twitter.com/QjoAPlDw4u
— Amara (@AmaraBaptist) November 21, 2017
But hey, how about some good news!
With a record of 3-15, the Dallas Mavericks currently are at the bottom of the Western Conference. The Mavs are a consistent two-way team, and when I say consistent, I mean consistently terrible. They’re 27th in both offensive and defensive efficiency. With the lone bright spot of Dennis Smith Jr., it’s obvious that the Mavericks are tanking this season.
It’s a good thing that the Memphis Grizzlies almost always take care of business against inferior teams!
What To Expect
David Fizdale is on record of wanting Dillon Brooks to become a defensive stopper. With the matchup of Harrison Barnes, Brooks will have another opportunity to grow into that role. Barnes is the Mavericks’ leading scorer, averaging 19.4 PPG, and is coming off a 31 point game in a losing effort to the Boston Celtics. Barnes has also averaged 18.5 points in his two previous matches against Memphis this year.
Expect Marc Gasol to be at the peak of his game. With Nerlens Noel in Rick Carlisle’s doghouse, the Mavericks’ starting center has recently been Maximilian Kleber (I’m pretty sure that’s a computer-generated 2K player and not a real person). The combination of Salah Mejri, Maxi Kleber,and Nerlens Noel (this team is a PA announcer’s nightmare) shouldn’t be able to slow down Gasol. A 30 point, 15 rebound game could be in the cards for Gasol.
This game will also be a battle of whose guard play can be less mediocre. The Mavericks start Dennis Smith and Wesley Matthews, whom have both been struggling recently. Yogi Ferrell and J.J. Barea also play extended minutes. With Mike Conley out, Mario Chalmers and *screams* Andrew Harrison will have to rise to the challenge. Ben McLemore will need to look more like an offseason steal rather than a future star in a Chinese professional league.
Prediction
I could probably name a hundred things in the world that would be more exciting than watching this game tonight. Watching Spongebob until my eyes bleed would probably be a few spots ahead of this game, if I’m being honest. Watching college basketball, the worst form of basketball, would be a few spots ahead of this game.
The Memphis Grizzlies will probably win this game, just simply because the season will likely go off the rails if they lose. That doesn’t mean I have to be happy while I watch it.
Grizzlies-104, Mavericks-97
Next: Evans, Brooks proving Grizz had great offseason
Game Details
WHO: Dallas Mavericks at Memphis Grizzlies
WHERE: Fedex Forum — Memphis,TN
WHEN: 7:00 PM CT
HOW TO WATCH: Fox Sports Southeast
HOW TO LISTEN: 92.9 ESPN