With the 2024-2025 NBA season just a few short weeks away, team schedules have been released and the Memphis Grizzlies will look to rectify the trainwreck that occurred during last year's campaign.
After the 2023-24 season's dismay, the club will look to return to form from the year before where they saw themselves secure the second overall seed in the Western Conference, an impressive feat for a young team.
With a full offseason of practice under their belt, core players healthy again, and the addition of rookie behemoth big Zach Edey, the Grizzlies will look to refine their talents and push the limits on how far they can take a franchise still chasing its first NBA title.
With a healthy roster and no excuses for anything less then excellence, Memphis will have to prove to the world yet again that they are just as potent and capable as they pride themselves to be.
Led by team pillars such as Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., there will be an overflowing excitement as the team takes on a literal gauntlet in an attempt to dethrone last year's champion Boston Celtics.
Within the season itself, Memphis will have to deal with its usual divisional games against the Spurs, Rockets, Pelicans, and Mavericks as well as a smattering of top-level talent across both conferences.
While taking the season one game at a time is a prudent decision that head coach Taylor Jenkins and company will try to center the team around, it would be impossible to ignore the herculean task ahead that awaits the young but hungry Grizzlies core.
Grizzlies to face 10-game stretch that will steer the fate of their season
With a Western Conference brimming with playoff-tier talent, Memphis will not only need to assert its dominance over the in-conference competition to solidify its spot as a top seed but also to assure others don't threaten its position as the season progresses.
Schedule-wise, Memphis starts the season with multiple tough games against championship-aspiring opponents such as the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Denver Nuggets.
However, the true test will come in late December as Memphis finds itself in an offensive warzone that will push the team to its limits on both offense and defense.
Date | Opponent | Home/Away Game |
|---|---|---|
December 23rd | LA Clippers | Home |
December 26th | Toronto Raptors | Home |
December 27th | New Orleans Pelicans | Away |
December 29th | Oklahoma City Thunder | Away |
December 31st | Phoenix Suns | Away |
January 3rd | Sacramento Kings | Away |
January 4th | Golden State Warriors | Away |
January 6th | Dallas Mavericks | Home |
January 9th | Houston Rockets | Home |
January 11th | Minnesota Timberwolves | Away |
While the aforementioned stretch will feature the Grizzlies at home for four out of the ten games, the slew of opponents will put Memphis to the test to see if they are, in fact, a championship-caliber team.
With the lone exception of the Toronto Raptors, who have been experiencing extreme highs and lows in recent seasons, the formidable lineup of Western Conference foes will undoubtedly prove a challenge as Ja Morant and company look to solidify themselves in the upper echelon of teams as the midpoint of the season progresses.
A vital aspect of the gauntlet will be how well Memphis can match up defensively against offensive superpowers such as the Suns and Mavericks, as well as how they fare against teams that could very well find themselves playing in the first round of the playoffs such as the Warriors or Kings.
With steady guidance from coach Taylor Jenkins, continued offensive orchestration from Morant, and potentially league-leading defensive effort from the frontcourt, Memphis could find themselves in the driver's seat during the campaign.
While such a task will be easier said than done, there is palpable excitement in the air even as the season looms when thinking of how unbelievable the Grizzlies season could become if all of their pieces and practice come together.