This is also the first Memphis team in years built without Ja Morant. He was traded to Portland in the offseason and then strained his hamstring in his first game against the Grizzlies on October 29. Even so, Memphis has the better record at 7-3. The shape of it is odd, though: the Grizzlies beat Sacramento by 31, then lost 3 straight at home to New Orleans by 1, Indiana by 4 and Oklahoma City by 31.
The Toronto win came against a Raptors team missing Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and Collin Murray-Boyles, so it doesn't tell you much about how good Memphis is. What does count is how they closed. They won the 2nd quarter by 7 and the 4th by 8, and they pulled away once Toronto's thin rotation wore down. Late-game legs could matter Wednesday too, against a Denver team that has been living out of a suitcase.
Denver is 5-4. At full strength the Nuggets beat Toronto by 19 and won in Indiana by 12. They also lost at home to Portland and couldn't catch Houston. The question for 7:00 PM CT is whether the Nuggets have shaken off the Mexico City trip. Jokic's elbow is no longer on the report, so that part looks settled. If the legs are back too, they get a Grizzlies team that is down at least 1 center and maybe 2. If not, Memphis gets its best chance yet to stop losing at home.
Watch the Stewart decision before anything else. Post is already out, so Stewart's knee decides whether Memphis has a real center to put on Jokic for 35 minutes, or whether it has to get by on undersized bodies and help defense.
