When the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards square off tonight on TNT, the Grizzlies are going to be without Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, and Mike Conley. Conley suffered an ankle injury in last nights game against the Celtics but the other 3 regular starters are expected to sit for rest. This is going to be a huge blow to both the Grizzlies, and fans hoping to catch a good game tonight on national television.
The Wizards have been in a huge slump as of late, so this game could be used to get them back on track if they are able to perform to how they were before the slump. With the way they are playing, they could still easily lose this game even with some of the Grizz taking a rest for the night.
With the absence of Gasol and Randolph, the paint should be pretty open for the Wizards, so expect to see a lot of low post play from Marcin Gortat and Nene. They should be able to dominate the bench bigs of the Grizzlies, and should be able to carry the majority of offense for the Wizards in tonight’s contest.
Memphis head coach, Davis Joerger, knows even with these four key players on the bench, the Wizards are very vulnerable, and his team may still be able to pull out the victory. Out of all of the games upcoming on the Memphis schedule, this was the game that would be most easily won by Memphis even without these four players.
This would not be the first time a team giving rest to key players has pulled a win out, and would certainly not be the last. For a veteran team like Memphis, this rest will be a key top their success going forward with the rest of the season. Coming back strong from this rest is an expectation for Memphis, and should be accomplished.
The absence will create a less competitive atmosphere tonight, but the game should still produce something interesting for the fans to watch. Fans are going to want to see if the Wizards can hold off the depleted Grizzlies, or if Memphis is too deep for even a full Wizards squad to take down. Should be an exciting match-up with a lot of story lines coming away from the final result.
