Game Preview: Washington Wizards at Memphis Grizzlies

When: 7:00 PM CST, Tuesday, March 12th, 2024

Where: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

How To Watch/Stream: BallySports Southeast

Talk about exciting am I right? I guess it depends on who you ask huh? To be honest I’m not sure anyone would describe tonight’s game as exciting… But we find ourselves here nonetheless.

Tonight it will be a matchup between two teams straight off the NBA’s bottom rung. The Washington Wizards will be coming to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies.

To call both team’s seasons a disappointment would be an understatment. And still the Grizzlies (22 wins) have doubled the win total of the Wizards (11 wins). Let me make it clear though… Neither number is good.

Neither team is very good at home either, which doesn’t bode well for the home squad in this outing. Especially considering Washington is much better at playing on the road. On the season when traveling their record is 7-27.

You’d think that would be good for Memphis right? False. Because the Grizzlies are 7-25 at home. That’s the worst home record in the Western Conference. All that too say… I have no clue what to expect out of tonight’s game.

I’d like to say Memphis pulls this out… But the way this season is going? Your guess is as good as mine.

So Who Suits Up?

Take a look if you will at the Grizzlies injury report for the game this evening. It’s ok—go ahead—I’ll wait…

Now have yourself a big hearty laugh. Go on, one of those deep chuckles that brings a tear to your eye. Because that’s one absolute ridiculous list of injuries.

Thirteen. That’s how many guys are dealing with injuries on the roster right now. Come on. If that doesn’t make you utter a delirious laugh, I don’t know what will.

Jaren Jackson Jr… Santi Aldama… Luke Kennard… GG Jackson II… Jake LaRavia… So those are the only five players on the roster available. That isn’t on a 10-day or a 2-way contract.

Trey Jemison… Wenyen Gabriel… DeJon Jerreau… That’s three more on the roster if we’re counting each of those contract types.

For those keeping track at home… That’s eight dudes. Eight dudes available for the Grizzlies. And only five that are on real contracts.

I’m assuming it’s going to be those five that start… And the collection of 10-days/2-ways in as the substitutions. That alone is going to make this more of an uphill climb for the Grizzlies if they hope to emerge victorious.

The guys have been fighting hard though—regardless of who’s playing—in each of these games. I expect this game to be no different.

What You Got TJ?

Enough talk about who will or will not be available for the game tonight… Because the assignment remains the same for Head Coach Taylor Jenkins. Coach your team to the dub.

Now, he’s building off his 200th career victory from last week but still… As discussed above, getting the win is easier said than done.

TJ will be working with only an eight man rotation tonight and as such I expect his starters to see lots of minutes. As is the projected starters are—after all—the only guys who I would argue have true familiarity with him too.

Jenkins has already coached this team to a top ten defensive unit for the majority of the season. That’s with all the injuries the roster has sustained. They’ve only recently fallen out of that ranking, but still… the defensive tenacity is there.

It’s the offense that has struggled to keep up. And it’s up to Taylor to squeeze out every bit of it these guys got left in them for the rest of the season.

He’s not lost sight of the fact that a handful of these guys are going to be a part of the chip run next season. These scars matter. TJ knows that.

If he’s able to translate all that to a dub tonight? That’s an even better deal, albeit a harder one, but a better deal still.

Enjoy Luke’s musings? You can find more on X here.

Photo Credit: (Marta Lavandier/AP Photo)