The Memphis Grizzlies are coming off a 1-3 week where their last three games came down to the final possession. All three games were at home and began with an overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns before losses to the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns on back-to-back nights.
The injury report was clear for the team coming out of the NBA All-Star break but reared its ugly head again by week's end. GG Jackson missed Friday's game against the Knicks followed by Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Vince Williams Jr., and Brandon Clarke missing Saturday's game against the Spurs.
However, Ja Morant is the only player who appears on the injury report ahead of their battle with the Atlanta Hawks tonight. Morant is questionable tonight with shoulder soreness.
With two home games remaining on their five-game homestand, the Grizzlies will look to rebound from their latest skid. The new power rankings reflect their recent struggles but are not too tough on them.
NBA.com: 8th
The Grizzlies remained at the eighth spot on the new power rankings after losing three of their last four games. Also, positions seven through 12 remained the same as the Indiana Pacers (7), Houston Rockets (9), Minnesota Timberwolves (10), Golden State Warriors (11), and Milwaukee Bucks (12) kept the same rankings from last week.
The Grizzlies' recent slide has caused them to drop from the second seed to the fourth seed out West. However, they remain within 0.5-game of the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, who are tied for the second seed.
The Grizzlies' defense has let them down in their two recent losses, despite their third-ranking clutch defense. Five consecutive close games with a 2-3 record is on par for the 50-50 nature of how close games normally work.
ClutchPoints: 7th
The Grizzlies dropped one position from sixth to seventh in the ClutchPoints rankings as the surging Los Angeles Lakers jumped them, the Denver Nuggets, and the New York Knicks into the top five.
ClutchPoints Senior NBA Reporter Brett Siegel questioned how feared are the Memphis Grizzlies. The vulnerability they have shown defensively has many questioning whether the Grizzlies can operate effectively throughout the entirety of games come playoff time.
The Grizzlies have yet to prove they can improve from a good team to a great team and that's proven by their 3-8 record against the West's top five seeds. They have four games remaining against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, and Denver Nuggets to improve their standing against the best in the West.