Ranking Grizzlies’ In-Season Tournament opponents from worst to first
By Mark Nilon
1. Phoenix Suns (November 24)
We swear we’re not basing this list off the order in which the Grizzlies play each team. It just so happens that each contest becomes increasingly more challenging during this Group A stage of the In-Season Tournament, and the Suns are by far the most menacing opponent at this point in time.
Easily the most active team in the association over the last six months, throughout this span Phoenix has managed to tear down a significant portion of their roster only to, at least on paper, build back even better.
As things currently stand, head coach Frank Vogel has a roster with an assortment of talent consisting of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, DeAndre Ayton, and Eric Gordon, and those are only the headliners.
Sure, many will point to the fact that the quality of talent tails off a bit beyond these five aforementioned players, but in a one-game format such as this early tournament stage, the more star power one has the more likely their odds of pulling out a win are, especially when taking into account just how early into the season these games will be taking place.
Like with the Lakers matchup, if the Grizzlies had Ja Morant active on the roster for the festivities then perhaps the outlook may be improved a bit. However, without their superstar, a matchup against the highly revered Suns should be looked upon as easily their most challenging task of the In-Season Tournament.
