With a victory against the Houston Rockets, the Memphis Grizzlies finally ended their winless drought on the road, which had lasted eight games. This doesn’t say much, given that Houston has been one of the worst teams in the league during this season.
When they play away from home, the Grizzlies seem to be an entirely different club, which is a cause for worry for the Grizzlies as the playoffs draw closer. If you look at the rankings for the Western Conference, you’ll see that if Memphis doesn’t get its act together, teams like the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns may pass them in the standings and take over first place.
For Memphis to advance its game and establish itself as a genuine championship contender, the Grizzlies will need to figure out how to win away from home and be more consistent when playing teams with more quality players, such as the Nuggets.
But, it is far simpler to say than to carry through. Since Nikola Jokic is playing inside for Denver, they have enjoyed a significant advantage over them throughout this matchup. The Grizzlies will need to depend on Xavier Tillman to lessen the influence of Jokic, who has won the MVP award twice, as long as they continue to play without the services of Steven Adams. This makes the challenge of restraining Jokic a more difficult one.
Where do the Denver Nuggets stand currently?
The Nuggets have maintained their position as the best team in the Western Conference even though they have lately been forced to cope with losing several players due to injury. One way or another, they have performed at the same high level throughout this season. The only time they’ve lost in their past seven matches was when they faced the Grizzlies in their most recent matchup.
In contrast to their last meeting, the Nuggets will play the Grizzlies with Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, and Jokic to get revenge for an earlier defeat.
Jokic’s remarkable stats continue to put him in the driver’s seat for the Nuggets. He is averaging 24.6 points, 10.0 assists, and 11.7 rebounds per game. The presence of such many players has made things difficult for Denver’s rivals. After his comeback, Murray has also been a significant danger, averaging 20.1 points and 6.0 assists per game since he has been back.
Prediction
While I have no reason to question the Grizzlies’ ability, seeing how poorly they have performed away from home is alarming. Gordon and Murray did not play even though the last matchup between these two teams ended with them prevailing over the Nuggets. If they want to grab another victory against the club that is now in first place in the Western Conference, there are several areas in which they need to improve. If their primary scorers play in tomorrow’s game against the Grizzlies, the Nuggets will have a far better chance of returning from their most recent defeat and claiming a convincing win against Memphis.
