Week 3 NBA power rankings: 16. Memphis Grizzlies
Last week: (2-1) – vs. DEN (W), vs. DEN (W), @ WAS (L)
Offensive rating: 107.2 (16th in NBA)
Defensive rating: 112.7 (29th in NBA)
The Memphis Grizzlies have been solid this year, mostly because Ja Morant has been playing out of his mind. He’s not only the frontrunner for Most Improved Player, but he could be a sleeper MVP candidate.
They took home two huge wins vs. the Nuggets last week, who are a pretty solid team. Unfortunately, a blowout loss to the Wizards was not a great way to cap things off last week.
Outside of Morant, Memphis has been getting solid production from second-year wing Desmond Bane. His scoring numbers are way up this year.
They are a super gritty team that is ahead of schedule in their rebuild. However, due to the success of other teams, Memphis actually falls in this week’s rankings.
Season outlook: This should be another year where the Grizzlies are able to make noise in the play-in. Reaching the playoffs outright is a solid goal, but the play-in seems like the more realistic occurrence. Regardless, they will be a tough out in the postseason.