5 reasons why the Memphis Grizzlies can win an NBA Championship this season

No 4. The Memphis Grizzlies can win even without Ja Morant

It’s nothing new, but the Grizzlies are an incredibly deep team. They have been winning games without All-Star Ja Morant at an incredible clip.

The Grizzlies are 20-2 without Ja Morant in the lineup this season, a mind-boggling statistic. He’s one of the most dominant players in the NBA and the team doesn’t miss a beat without him in the lineup. Those two losses came against Dallas and Portland, in case you are wondering.

How are they able to sustain their success without Morant? A big part of it has been the stability of Tyus Jones.

Jones is having a career-best year and showing why re-signing him this offseason should be the team’s top priority.

As physical and hard as Morant plays, the team needs Jones and his steady, veteran hand to keep the team rolling. Jones leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio and his stats as a starter put him on par with some starting point guards on playoff teams.

No 3. Memphis leads the NBA in a bevy of stat categories

The Grizzlies lead the NBA in several statistical categories, which gives them an edge against most teams.

Memphis leads the NBA in blocks, steals, offensive rebounds, and total rebounds per game. They are second in the NBA in points per game and third in the NBA in point differential.

In other words, the Grizzlies are a complete team. They play excellent defense, they create second-chance opportunities by grabbing so many offensive rebounds (shoutout Steven Adams, the league leader in offensive boards), they score a ton of points, and usually beat their opponents by 6+ points on a given night.

The x-factor for Memphis all season long has been the team’s ability to get those offensive rebounds and a chance at getting extra looks at the basket.