Nets Look to Turn the Tides of Their Season in Memphis Against the Grizzlies
The Brooklyn Nets are at the bottom half of the Eastern Conference at 11-24, and after losing the last five of their six games, this team is desperately looking to turn the tide of this season around. On Sunday afternoon, the Nets will head to Memphis to take on the 16-22 Grizzlies. This Memphis squad is also looking to step up in a big way, with the team failing to meet expectations even with two all-stars on the roster in Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. In the first matchup between these two teams, both Brooklyn and Memphis will look to establish bragging rights before their last meeting of the season on March 9th. With the Nets on a three-game road trip, they’re looking to reassert themselves and take charge as we head closer to the all-star break.
In this interconference matchup, the Nets will rely on the three of Michael Porter Jr., Cam Thomas, and Nic Claxton. Porter Jr. has scored more than 25 points in the last five of his six games. Despite finishing with just 18 points in Friday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the former NBA Champion recorded five rebounds, six assists, four steals, and a block. Averaging 26 points per game, Porter Jr. is looking to establish himself as an all-star this season. While Thomas and Claxton are averaging 19 and 13 points, respectively, they need to step up big-time if Brooklyn wants to begin to turn the tide of their season around. After starting off the season 0-8, the Nets could start clicking if they see a win in Memphis and over their next two road games against the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans while climbing up the Eastern Conference standings.
It was reported by Shams Charania earlier on January 9th that the Grizzlies were entertaining offers to trade Morant before the NBA Trade Deadline. The two-time all-star has missed the last four games for Memphis, with the last game he played in was January 2nd during a 128-121 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, where Morant finished with 16 points and 11 assists. This Grizzlies team is still missing a bunch of players from their unit due to injury, such as Scottie Pippen Jr., Ty Jermone, Zach Edey, Brandon Clarke, John Konchar, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. If Morant misses a fifth consecutive game, the Grizzlies will heavily rely on Jackson Jr. as the focal point of their offense and defense. However, look for guys like GG Jackson II and Cam Spencer to step up as they look to continue building success within their NBA careers.
These two franchises are not the best three-point shooting teams, with the Grizzlies ranking 20th in three-point percentage and the Nets at 22nd. Also, both the Nets and Grizzlies turn the ball over a lot, with Brooklyn and Memphis averaging 15 turnovers a game. Yet, Brooklyn is the worst rebounding team in the NBA this season, averaging 39.9 rebounds a game as a unit, with Memphis as a top-three rebounding team in the league, averaging 46 rebounds per game. For the Nets, they must rely on accumulating a ton of Grizzlies turnovers as well as rebounding the ball. If they can finish this game with more rebounds and fewer turnovers, they’ll pick up a win in Memphis. However, if the Grizzlies continue their trend of being a top rebounding team, the Nets will have a hard time picking up a victory on the road.
The Grizzlies being the better rebounding team certainly matters in this matchup, especially when the Nets are the worst rebounding team in the NBA. Rebounding will be the key to Memphis picking up a much-needed home win, while Brooklyn will falter again and not change the tide of the season around. The Nets must look for a big man who can help with their rebounding issue, unless this team is already looking towards the 2026 NBA Draft. With teams like the Washington Wizards potentially on the rise after trading for Trae Young, does this Nets team continue to plummet within the East, or will they try and play copycat and pick up a future franchise star?
