The Memphis Grizzlies, with a win, advanced to the second round Thursday night, and now are set for a rematch with the Utah Jazz.
A matchup that favored the Memphis Grizzlies ten days ago, and Memphis dominated most of that game during the Utah Summer League. A game that had Memphis up by 24 at half time, yet finished with Memphis winning 95-92.
Things Have Changed:
A lot was different ten days ago, and both teams have changed for the better. Ten days ago, Utah’s first round draft pick and Summer League leading scorer Graysen Allen sat out due to rest. Allen gives their team the offensive flow that it needs, and with Allen out in the July 3rd matchup, Utah striggled to find offense in the first two quarters.
Both teams are (2-2) this Summer, and both have played up and down. It is tough to gauge each team due to both resting their first round draft picks throughout their four games in Vegas, but one thing is for sure, Memphis and Utah will be a must watch on Saturday night.
Two Teams, Same story?
Utah and Memphis are both coming off of wins against teams that were seeded a lot better then them. With Utah it was Thursday night against a very tough Orlando Magic team. A Magic team that destroyed Memphis by 30 several days ago, so the respect factor should be on Utah’s name.
For Memphis, they dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, another team that was seeded lower, but couldn’t pull through in round one. The Thunder struggled to recover from Memphis’ hot first half start, and it played out similar to when Memphis took on Utah July 3rd.
Memphis built a big first half lead (21), and then maintained it throughout the second half on Thursday night. The Thunder, similar to Utah fought their way back into the game in the second half. Thankfully for Memphis, both times, the Grizzlies didn’t shy away from the moment.
Big Matchups:
First matchup that I am looking forward to is Memphis’ Jevon Carter, going up against Utah’s Grayson Allen. We haven’t seen this mathcup yet because Allen sat out in their first matchup (rest), and Carter is one of the top defenders in this Summer League.
Carter, who is averaging almost two steals a game has seemed to take his guy out of almost every game. So, a lot of the rumors before their matchup on the 3rd was that Allen was sitting out so that he did not have to face Carter. If that is the case, Allen can not avoid this matchup, and I am here for it.
One of the best offensive guys in Summer League going up against one of the best defenders… Sign me up!
The last matchup to watch will be Memphis’ Jeron Jackson Jr., going up against Utah’s Georges Niang. Niang, in their first matchup finished with 18 points, four assists, and 10 rebounds. Jackson finished their last matchup with 10 points, and eight rebounds.
Jackson since has settled into his role with this Summer League team. Thurday night, you could see he has come a long way since his July 3rd meeting against Niang. Not that Jackson played poorly by any means, but being more involved defensively. He mentioned it in his interview after last nights game as well, so he feels good about his growth.
T.V. Information:
The Memphis Grizzlies will face the Utah Jazz in a rematch, but in tournament action Saturday night at 7:30 P.M. CST on ESPN2.