Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers separating from rest of NBA in Power Rankings
By Phil Watson
5-13. Previous: . Memphis Grizzlies. 27. team. 211.
Last week: Lost at Indiana 126-114, lost to Clippers 121-119, lost to Utah 103-94
This week: Sunday at Minnesota, Monday vs. Indiana, Wednesday at Chicago, Saturday at Utah
The Memphis Grizzlies have lost six straight games and face a stretch of five road games out of their next six overall. That’s not to say the Grizzlies haven’t been competitive. They pushed the Lakers on Nov. 23, losing 109-108, and gave the Clippers a scare on Wednesday before LA escaped with a 121-119 victory.
The Grizz also got some bad news Saturday when Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that rookie Ja Morant will be week-to-week with aggravated back spasms. According to Charania, Morant will need a period of “short-term off-loading,” which is young player-ese for “load management.”
But Memphis is a young team and young teams will struggle with things such as holding onto leads and closing out games, particularly against veteran clubs with more depth. The Grizzlies had a stretch of three straight wins in mid-November that excited fans and had them at 5-7, but they have now drifted toward the bottom of the Western Conference.
Jonas Valanciunas had a big week for Memphis despite the three losses, averaging 22.0 points, 14.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 30.7 minutes per game, shooting 63.0 percent overall and hitting 2-of-6 from deep. That included a 30-point, 16-rebound outburst against the Clippers that marked season-highs in each category (exceeded by 17 rebounds on Friday against the Jazz).
26. team. 27. . 4-15. Previous: . New York Knicks
Last week: Lost at Toronto 126-98, lost to Philadelphia 101-95
This week: Sunday vs. Boston, Monday at Milwaukee, Thursday vs. Denver, Saturday vs. Indiana
The struggles continued for the New York Knicks, as their losing skid grew to five games with losses at Toronto and at home to the 76ers last week.
New York plays three of its four games this week at home, but that might not be as great a news as it could be, considering the Knicks are only 3-7 at Madison Square Garden thus far (though to be fair, that is better than their 1-8 road mark).
The Knicks are still without Reggie Bullock (cervical disc herniation) and Elfrid Payton (strained right hamstring). Bullock has been working in non-contact drills since mid-November and is scheduled to be re-evaluated early this month.
Even with the losses, there were bright spots, including a couple of solid efforts from Julius Randle, who scored 41 points with 18 rebounds and five assists in 59 minutes over the two games. He shot 48.1 percent overall and was 3-for-9 from deep. More encouraging was Randle getting to the foul line a season-high 13 times against Philadelphia.