The fallout of the NBA schedule release continues as fans determine which games they want to attend to see their favorite teams and players. The Memphis Grizzlies received a heavy home slate to begin the regular season, with eight of their first 11 games being played at the FedExForum. Included in their slate are Western Conference battles with the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Receiving that many home games in the beginning should help ease the transition for a roster that made significant changes this offseason, and could potentially be missing its starting frontcourt to begin the season due to injuries. However, as the schedule evens itself out, the Grizzlies received a gauntlet of a road trip to follow their heavy home slate.
Grizzlies play 9 of 11 on road after 8 off first 11 at home
The latter half of the Grizzlies' first 11 games includes a four-game homestand against three of their four mentioned Western Conference rivals from above, and another returning playoff team from the Eastern Conference in the Detroit Pistons. What follows is a four-game road trip beginning on the East Coast against returning top East teams, the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
After altering a couple of home and away games, they will finish their gauntlet with another four-game road trip against Western Conference opponents, including two trips to the state of California, where they haven't won a game since January 2024. The NBA schedule will always even itself out, but the Grizzlies don't have an easy task after a somewhat easier beginning to the regular season.
They are hopeful that Jaren Jackson Jr. won't be out long, if any regular-season time, as he recovers from offseason turf toe surgery. However, Zach Edey's offseason ankle surgery is expected to carry into the regular season, leaving the Grizzlies vulnerable at the center position for some of those early-season tests.
Also, the team will have to factor in a new system being implemented by their new coach, Tuomas Iisalo, additions of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Ty Jerome, and Jock Landale, and the development of their 2025 first-round draft pick, Cedric Coward, who didn't play in summer league. A team with a healthy Ja Morant will always have a chance, so the three home games to begin the regular season will be near must-win games for the team to ensure they keep pace with its Western Conference counterparts.