The Grizzlies went through a complete overhaul following the loss of their leading scorer and a flurry of deals before the deadline. They nowhere near resemble the team that took the floor against the Cavaliers in October and were slammed by 30 points. And that’s probably a good thing.
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SCHEDULING
Fresh off a three-game homestand, the Grizzlies hit the road for a quick road trip of two games beginning Monday in Cleveland. Memphis has undergone a complete makeover since meeting the Cavaliers at the start of the season. They’ve been productive despite losing leading scorer Marc Gasol to a season-ending foot injury last month and Tony Allen missing the past two weeks. The Grizzlies continue to work Chris Andersen, P.J. Hairston and Lance Stephenson into the mix. All three were brought over before the trade deadline. Memphis won six of the first eight without Gasol and moved a season-high 12 games over .500 with a 104-98 win over Sacramento on Wednesday.
Monday concludes a three-games-in-four-nights stretch for the Cavaliers following a back-to-back set against Eastern Conference foes Washington and Boston. The good news for the Cavs is that all the games are at The Q as part of a four-game homestand. A recent span of three losses in four games where the Cavs scored fewer than 100 points three times, sparked a reason for concern regarding the Eastern Conference leaders. Starting the homestand with a win over Indiana squelched the talk temporarily. The Cavs are an East-best 25-5 at home through their first 30 posting a 14-16 ATS mark.
INJURIES
In addition to Gasol being out for the year, Allen remains out indefinitely with a sore left knee. Also, forward Brandan Wright is shelved for another 7-10 days after suffering a sprained MCL in his right knee.
Cleveland is getting healthier with the return of Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova. While Delly was sidelined, Mo Williams served as the backup point guard, however, Williams is now shelved due to a left knee injury.
KEY MATCHUP
With leading scorer Gasol out for the year, the Grizzlies needed someone to take over the scoring reins. Point guard Mike Conley has been more aggressive on offense and scored 24 points for the second time in five games, shooting 9 of 12 from the floor against Sacramento. “I decided just to go for my offense a little bit more when I had a shot, take it, don’t pass up any open looks.” Conley said about his aggressive approach. He can finish with both hands, shoot threes and get into the paint whenever he wants. While he’s seemingly been around forever as a complementary piece in the Griz’s successful Grit n’ Grind era, Conley has emerged from the shadows in what is the final year of his contract. The Grizzlies are never more efficient than when Conley is on the court.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Cavaliers had their lull last week, losing three of four games during a stretch where the offense sputtered. The final loss in that span came without LeBron James, who was given a night of rest. The Cavs were so listless and their effort so poor, it prompted a postgame tirade from J.R. Smith. When Smith starts calling out his teammates, you know something is wrong. The Cavs are the best team in the Eastern Conference, and even the best ones have times when they struggle, except maybe Golden State. Memphis has done surprisingly well since Gasol was lost for the year, changing up their offensive schemes with increased spacing, and using more of Conley’s assets. While the Grizzlies new tempo worked well against the Lakers, Suns, T-Wolves and Nets, it hasn’t been as successful against the better teams in the league.
Cleveland 106, Memphis 101
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