There’ll be a bit of star power missing from the matchup on Sunday between the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Still, the game will feature plenty of juice when the top two teams in the Western Conference square off in Oklahoma City. This is the first of four meetings this season between the clubs.
The Thunder have won 10 consecutive games, while the Grizzlies have won back-to-back games and 14 of their past 17 to tuck into second place in the conference.
Memphis will be without Ja Morant, who suffered an AC joint sprain in his right shoulder on Friday in a win over New Orleans when he collided with Pelicans’ center Daniel Theis on a screen.
Morant is averaging 21.2 points and 7.9 assists in 20 games after missing all but nine games last season due to a suspension and then a labral tear in his right shoulder.
The injury comes at a critical time for the Grizzlies, who are 8-4 without Morant this season.
Sunday kicks off a stretch during which Memphis will play nine of its next 11 games against teams that sit in the top 10 of the Western Conference standings heading into action on Sunday.
The clash between the Grizzlies and Thunder features the top teams in the league in drives per game.
Memphis’ league-leading 59.7 per game is fueled by Morant, while Oklahoma City’s 58.7 is led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 21.4 per game — tops in the NBA.
On Sunday, the Grizzlies will be looking to improve their interior protection, an area in which they struggled at time on Friday in their 132-124 victory against the Pelicans.
“We got a little exposed at the rim with some fouls,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
If the Grizzlies are plagued with the same issue against the Thunder, it figures to be much more difficult to escape with a win.
Oklahoma City has been without second-year center Chet Holmgren since early November and also were without Alex Caruso, Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace in Saturday’s 106-94 win in Charlotte.
Caruso suffered a hip strain Monday in a 123-105 win over the Washington Wizards while Dort (right ankle sprain) and Wallace (quad contusion) were hurt Thursday as the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 120-114.
“Every team goes through tough stretches, but that doesn’t make it easy,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “The guys have had no excuses. We’ve endured some injuries and obviously a lot of travel and tough games, and guys just keep showing up and keep punching.”
Sunday’s game is the first of a five-game homestand for Oklahoma City. The Thunder haven’t played back-to-back home games since mid-November.
Oklahoma City’s winning streak is its longest since January 2014 and within two games of the longest streak since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season. Their loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup title game does not count in the standings or for the purposes of the win streak.
The Thunder-Grizzlies matchup initially looked to be a clash between two of the top point guards in the NBA, but at least Gilgeous-Alexander is expected to be on the floor.
He is averaging 32.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists during the win streak. Averaging 30.8 points per game on the season, Gilgeous-Alexander trails only Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.7) in the quest for the league scoring title.
–Field Level Media
