Surprising Grizzlies Still +170 Underdog To Make The Playoffs

The Memphis Grizzlies have been one of the best stories in all of basketball this season. The team that finished with just 33 wins last season (33-49) and earned the second pick over in the 2019 NBA Draft has already registered 20 wins in 42 games this season. After winning seven in a row, the Grizzlies are now holding the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Are they a good bet to make it?

MORANT LEADING GRIZZLIES RESURGENCE

While it’s hard to believe how quickly the Grizzlies have turned things around, it becomes less improbable when you consider just how well rookie Ja Morant has played. The second overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft is the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award as he’s averaging 17.9 points per game with 7.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds.

Morant has been the catalyst for the Grizzlies success as he’s made all of the young players around him better. Not only is he a capable scorer – both from the outside and driving to the basket – he’s a prolific passer, who has already compiled some of the top highlight-assists of the season.

The other key is he continues to improve by the month as Morant is averaging a healthy 19.8 points per game with 8.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 59.4% from the field in January. He’s a superstar in the making and that’s what is propelling the Grizzlies into the playoff picture.

YOUNG CAST EMERGING TOGETHER

While Morant has been special, he hasn’t had to do it by himself. The Grizzlies have a burgeoning young roster teeming with potential. Jaren Jackson Jr., who was the team’s lottery pick in 2018, is averaging 17.8 points per game while former second-round pick Dillon Brooks is scoring 15.4. This year’s first-round pick, Brandon Clarke, is scoring 12.3 points per game. Jonas Valanciunas, who is just 27 years old, is seemingly the veteran on the team. Acquired at the trade deadline last season, he’s averaging 15.1 points per game along with 10.0 rebounds, 2,1 assists and 1.1 blocks.

This is a young cast that’s growing together and – if you’ve watched them during their seven-game winning streak – clearly loves playing together. That could go a long way to them making a second-half push for the playoffs. They’re young and improving together with every passing game.

WILL GRIZZLIES MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

The current odds show that Memphis is still a -200 favorite to miss the playoffs and at +170 to make them. While they’re currently the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, the general thinking is that some of the veteran teams behind them will pick up the pace and the Grizzlies might falter. Remember that while they’ve won seven in a row, they were just 13-22 before that.

In terms of the veteran teams behind them that are struggling, the San Antonio Spurs, who are a playoff stalwart, and the Portland Trail Blazers, who played in the Western Conference Finals last season, are just behind Memphis. The Spurs are two games back while the Trail Blazers are three games behind. Portland is at +290 to make the playoffs but many bettors feel there’s more value there as they have the stars like Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum to close the gap.

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