NBA Play-in: What you need to know about the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies

Key Matchup: Damian Lillard versus Ja Morant

As the star he is, Morant hasn’t fallen off in these bubble games averaging 19.9 points per game and 9.9 assists on a troubling 23 percent from three with five attempts per game. I broke down the season series prior to the bubble starting, so I’ll focus on the before mentioned overtime game between the Trail Blazers and Grizzles. One good thing about facing the Trail Blazers rather than the Phoenix Suns is that there are 50+ minutes of film as the first game of the bubble for the teams was against each other.

When especially looking at the head to head matchup between Morant and Lillard there are only one or two things Morant is better at; his athleticism and motor, and his finishing around the rim. In the bubble, Morant has taken 55 (6.8 per game) shots within five feet of the rim with a shooting percentage of 58.2. With his aggressive play, he’s also gotten to the line 5.4 times per game which will help the Grizzlies has the Blazers have a handful of bigs to soak up fouls in Jusuf Nurkić (4.9 fouls per game in the bubble) Hassan Whiteside (2.8 fouls) and Zach Collins (3.1 fouls)

Morant’s motor is great but better is this matchup as Lillard is often exhausted by the end of games with his usage rate of 30.8 percent and playing 41.7 minutes per game. When compared to Morant who sits at a 24.5 percent usage rate and playing 37.8 minutes per game it will be a battle of attrition as De’Anthony Melton will likely take Lillard on defense and the Trail Blazers will try put Morant in vulnerable situations.