This season, there has been an unprecedented group of stars in the NBA, and the Eastern Conference Celtics and Bucks have been very targeted. Porzingis complements the Celtics' interior defense, also bringing outside shooting and mobility. Holiday fills in the backcourt after Smart's departure, and is also more capable than Smart on the offensive end. The Celtics' move helped them build a huge advantage early on from the start of the season and firmly occupy the first place in the East. The Bucks also moved up to No. 2 in the East after the fusion of Lillard and Antetokounmpo matured, matching the Celtics' number of wins.
But the West side is also the most serious part of the star huddle, with the Clippers' Leonard and George and Wei Shao, finally allowing Harden to play his due role after multiple roster adjustments. On the other hand, it also stimulated Leonard's potential on the offensive end, and the Clippers are still in fifth place in the West after a wave of nine consecutive wins was ended. Several other teams, however, were less than lucky. The Suns' Beal has played five games so far in the regular season, suffering from back-to-back and ankle problems. Durant and Booker have been in ups and downs in the case of continuous high loads, and the team's winning rate has fallen to 50%, and the ranking has slipped to 10 in the West.
The addition of Paul to the Warriors did not make the Warriors significantly improved, on the contrary, it was a group of young players who played well after repeated defeats. The Warriors seized on a relatively competitive schedule during this period to sit 11th behind the Suns after a wave of four straight wins. The fall of a number of big teams also means that there will be more opportunities for dark horse teams with young players as the main force. The Timberwolves and Thunder have been in the top 2 in the West for almost a month, and the Pelicans have moved to 6th in the West after McCollum's return. There is also the Rockets, who also made the playoffs after the addition of VanVleet and Dillon, and came to 8th place in the West.
On top of that, there was another team that not only suffered a massive injury at the start of the season, but also banned its absolute core. There was no doubt that their performance was absolutely terrible, but after the return of one man, the team was turned upside down directly. The Grizzlies are the slowest team in the league to win their first game this season, and the Grizzlies have fallen to the bottom of the West. They have been ranked in the top 6 in the West for the past three seasons, and although they have only reached the second round of the playoffs at most, their performance in the regular season is unquestionable.
And this season, the Grizzlies are full of confidence to get Smart, hoping to improve the defense of the backcourt and fill the hole in Morant's defense on the defensive end. But Adams was reimbursed, Clarke was injured, Morant was suspended for 25 games, and new signing Smart was also sidelined by injury. The Grizzlies quickly became one of the best teams in the West, with Bane averaging 24.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game to lead the team to a hard time. However, in the two games in which Morant returned, the Grizzlies won all of them. In the game with the Pelicans, Morant scored 34 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, and also completed the whistle shot. In the game against the Pacers, Morant had another 20 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. For the 25-year-old Morant, amid criticism and doubts and concerns from outside fans, he is back in the league for the second time he has been suspended.
Those two wins are enough to show how important Morant is to this Grizzlies team, and on the defensive end, the Grizzlies can lock down opponents and force opponents to stop the ball through joint defense. On the offensive end, the Grizzlies Big 3 Morant, Jackson Jr. and Bane complement each other. In the past two games, Morant, Bane and Jackson Jr. have all averaged more than 20 points per game. The Grizzlies have been reborn from Morant's return after blow after blow. The Grizzlies have an 8-19 record so far this season, ranking 13th in the West. If the Grizzlies want to make the playoffs through the play-in tournament, they will have to maintain at least a 41-41 record in the regular season.
For the Grizzlies, the addition of Morant makes it look like it's not too late. After all, strong teams like the Suns, Warriors and Lakers are also struggling. The young players of the rising star team, the Rockets, are inexperienced, and the Pelicans are always at risk of Zion's injury, and Zion has been unable to control his weight for several seasons, which has caused the team to maintain enough continuity to make the playoffs. But the Grizzlies are a different story, having won almost as many games without Morant over the past few seasons as they did when Morant was on the floor. Although Jones is gone this season, as long as Smart, Clarke and others return, the Grizzlies still have enough energy to make the playoffs and even a championship.