What: Charlotte Hornets (11-28) (4-15 away) at Memphis Grizzlies (28-15) (16-5 home)
When: 8:00pm Eastern
Where: FedExForum; Memphis, TN
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–Association (white), Grizzlies–Statement (light blue)
Game Lines: Hornets +12.5, Hornets money line +500, O/U 240.5
Injuries:
Hornets: Brandon Miller-out (wrist), Tre Mann-out (back), Grant Williams-out (knee)
Grizzlies: Luke Kennard-probable (ankle), Jake LaRavia-doubtful (back), Marcus Smart-out (finger), Cam Spencer-out (thumb), Vince Williams-out (ankle)
These are not your older brother’s grit ‘n’ grind Grizzlies. They’re not choking you out defensively and grinding out gross offensive possessions featuring multiple big men surrounded by mostly non shooters. They’re quite the opposite. While the Grizzlies’ defense is still good (6th in the league), their offense is slightly better (5th). On top of that, the Grizzlies play at the fastest pace in the league, and by a rather significant margin at that.
That’s coincided with a more team centric approach to offense. Ja Morant and Desmond Bane are both scoring at their lowest rates in years while Jaren Jackson Jr. has taken the team lead at scoring with 22.6 points per game. Nobody statistically jumps out as a superstar, but the Grizzlies are still fourth in the league in net rating.
On the other side, don’t look now, but the Hornets are kinda crushing it. They’ve won three straight and four of their last five. That said, this still a rather arduous uphill climb. None of the opponents during this good stretch of play have been particularly good, and the Grizzlies are vastly better than all of them.
After tonight, the Hornets won’t have another road game until February 9th. They’ll have a nine game homestand to really measure where they’re at as the trade deadline approaches.
