Memphis Grizzlies vs. Boston Celtics Game Preview

Who: Boston Celtics (37-12, 1st in the East) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (18-31, 13th in the West)

When: Sunday, February 4th, 5:00 P.M. CST

Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA

How To Watch: Bally Sports Southeast

Injury Report: 

Memphis: John Konchar (Questionable, Calf), Vince Williams Jr. (Questionable, Wrist), Xavier Tillman (Doubtful, Knee), Desmond Bane (Out, Ankle), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Out, Hip), Ja Morant (Out, Shoulder), Victor Oladipo (Out, Knee), Brandon Clarke (Out, Achilles), Ziaire Williams (Out, Hand), Jake LaRavia (Out, Ankle), Marcus Smart (Out, Finger)

Boston: Jaylen Brown (Questionable, Back), Luke Kornet (Probable, Hamstring)

Do Not Run Out of Gas

Tonight marks Memphis’s third game in four days. Home losses to the Cavaliers and Warriors dashed any hope the Grizzlies had of making a run at the Play-In Tournament – the Grizzlies are now five and a half games back from the 10th seed with their arrow pointing down. 

Undermanned, Thursday and Friday’s games will make today’s matchup rough. The Grizzlies are gassed and without Jaren Jackson Jr., facing the league’s best team with an unmatched home-court advantage. This one could get ugly. Boston has managed to stay relatively healthy all season and will have their core intact against Derrick Rose, Luke Kennard, Santi Aldama and the Memphis Hustle. 

Memphis has heavily relied on their G-League players this season, using 10-Day and Two-Way contracts to fill their roster amidst all of their injuries. Scotty Pippen Jr., GG Jackson, and others have shined with their playing time, but it seems as if Memphis is adding a new player every game, and the chemistry is just not there. This team has been thrown together throughout the season, and the variety of lineups has prevented Taylor Jenkins and the coaching staff from establishing a solid rotation. There are still some shining moments of the culture the Grizzlies have built over the past four seasons, but the bones of those teams are unavailable or gone, making it harder and harder to build team morale. 

With all of Memphis’ new additions, the Grizzlies have some fresh legs. Jackson has carried a heavy burden recently and will miss today’s game but the young guns should be ready to go to keep the energy up. The Grizzlies certainly do not have the talent to compete with Boston, but if they can match their energy level, they can make it an interesting game. 

Have Fun?

When asked about coaching a roster this thin last week, Taylor Jenkins said, “Have fun, man.” That is all you can do under these circumstances. The Grizzlies are 16-point underdogs on Sunday and justifiably so. If they won, it would be the biggest upset of the season thus far and the type of win that feels just as good as a playoff win. 

The Grizzlies have found these wins in the past. The scrappy, unexpected, undermanned wins that show the heart of this team. But never before have the Grizzlies taken on such a task with so little firepower of their own.

If you squint really, REALLY hard, you can kind of see it: “Jacob Gilyard made five threes, Kennard put up 20+, Aldama finished with a double-double, and GG Jackson flashed his potential once again…” That is the path to this game being competitive. 

It’s smart to rest JJJ for this game. Memphis has no shot of winning even with their star player, and he has played over 30 minutes in each of the Grizzlies’ past five games. It will be interesting to watch Vince Williams Jr.’s status ahead of this game to see if Memphis opts to rest him, or if he leads the Grizzlies as the number one option within the same year of being called up from the G-League.

It has been a rough season for the Memphis Grizzlies. Four months ago, it seemed as if Ja Morant’s suspension was the only hump the Grizzlies had to get past. It has been downhill since but there have been some fun moments: Morant’s brief return, (Vince) William’s emergence as a core Grizzly, and Bane’s elite scoring. It is important to remember those silver linings. Grizzlies basketball is always Grizzlies basketball. All they can do at this point is go out and have fun. 

Prediction: Boston 115, Memphis 98

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Brandon Dill