Ty Jerome is the reason the Grizzlies are being taken seriously. He was 3rd in the league in scoring through the first week, behind only Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards, and he's been running the offense with 6.5 assists a night. Rookie Cameron Boozer is already getting Rookie of the Year talk. The comeback against Golden State, where Memphis erased a 12-point deficit in the final 4 minutes, says this group doesn't fold. The caveat is just as real: the 4 teams Memphis beat were a combined 2-9, and Jerome showed signs of cooling in the second Utah game.
Clippers96-121
Sacramento's problem is simple and so far it hasn't changed. The Kings have allowed 121 or more in all 5 games. They led New Orleans after 1 quarter, then lost the 2nd and 3rd by a combined 20 points to a Pelicans team missing Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray and Yves Missi. Scoring hasn't been the issue. Zach LaVine averaged 27.3 points over the first 4 games, and Domantas Sabonis was putting up 16.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists. The Kings just can't get stops.
The injury list explains a lot of that. Both backup centers, Dylan Cardwell (calf) and Maxime Raynaud (knee), are out and won't be re-evaluated before this game, which leaves Sabonis to hold the paint mostly alone. Keegan Murray's ankle has him out for another 10-to-14 days, so their best wing defender is gone too. Ben Simmons is done after Achilles surgery. Memphis has nobody on its injury report, and that gap in available bodies is the biggest difference between these 2 rosters right now.
What makes Saturday interesting is whether Memphis is really this good or has mostly benefited from a soft schedule, and the Portland game will say plenty about that first. Sacramento has already shown it can score 112 against this Grizzlies team. If the Kings want their first win, the defense has to hold somebody under 120 for once.