Suns Close Out Road Trip Against Grizzlies
By Omar Soussi
Jan 9, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) passes as Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) and center Marc Gasol (33) defend during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Grizzlies 106-95. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The Suns face off against the Grizzlies in Memphis tonight for a big game. This game features two teams that right now are in the playoff hunt and both are fun to watch.
Though the grizzlies have a four-game lead on the Suns, Phoenix has been hot as of late, winning seven of their last ten games, while the Grizzlies have won only four of their last 10 games.
This game will also have both teams playing a different time of basketball than the other. The Grizzlies plays physical defensive basketball while he Suns play high scoring high potent basketball.
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It’ll be interesting to see which side wins out.
The Grizzlies are eighth in points allowed with 97.8, while the Suns are fourth in points per game. Though you would think the Suns would have the advantage, they’re going to have trouble scoring in the paint with the big boys Memphis has.
The free-throw line and three-point range are the two areas where the Suns have to done most of their damage. The Suns make 36 percent from three and they’re the best team in the league at the charity stripe, shooting 80 percent.
The big player for the Suns in my mind is Eric Bledsoe. He has been a huge reason for the Suns success these past 10 games, averaging 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds. He also has had two double-doubles in the last five games, including the loss to the Spurs on Friday. Phoenix needs him to have a big day if they want to get a win tonight.
Memphis has a key playmaker as well that needs a hot day for them to win. His name is Marc Gasol. Gasol has had a great last 10 games as well, averaging 20 points, eight assists and two blocks per game. Gasol will be as important as Bledsoe for his team to succeed in this game and how they are guarded will also have an impact on the game.
I think the Suns will win this game but it will be a nail bitter until the end and both Bledsoe and Goran Dragic will be the big reason why they win.