SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Utah Jazz vs. Memphis Grizzlies

We have 16 teams going into action tonight with the Utah Jazz meeting the Grizzlies in Memphis for the first time early into the season.

Both teams are coming off wins on Tuesday and Thursday in some very close games. The Jazz pulled out a win against Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets while the Grizzlies just barely pulled out a win in a memorable win against the Charlotte Hornets. Tonight’s match-up should be an interesting one, for Jazz guard Mike Conley will be making his return to the FedEx Forum for the first time since his departure with the Grizzlies.

Conley will be up against some very familiar faces on this Memphis squad, as well as some new faces, specifically in rookie guard Ja Morant. Morant has been a catalyst for the Grizzlies, averaging 18.3 points and 5.8 assists. They’ve started off their season so far at 4-7, but with his game-winning shot against the Hornets, they hope to take that momentum into tonight. The team hopes to prove that they’ll be doing just fine without Conley, despite some early struggles this season.

For the Jazz however, they’ve been looking fairly good to kick things off this season tied for second with a record of 8-3. The Jazz core has been up to par with what we as fans expected, with Donovan Mitchell is at the helm of this Utah squad, with names like Bagdanovic, Gobert, Ingles, and Conley to back him up. Mitchell has been doing it all for the Jazz to say the least, leading his team in points, assists, and steals.

The guard match-up going into this one will be fun to watch, with Mike Conley making his return to Memphis in addition to Mitchell and Morant squaring off in a battle of young talent. It should also be interesting to see how Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas of Memphis take on the French Center in Rudy Gobert. Jackson and Valanciunas have to contain the paint scoring and hope that their guards can contest some shots from the perimeter. It may seem like a tall order to try and defend such a well-rounded offense in the Utah Jazz, but Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies are more than up to the task.