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Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the NBA will return with a loaded day of action that Black Friday, including a game between two potential Western Conference powerhouses when the New Orleans Pelicans travel north to take on the Memphis Grizzlies in a battle for southern food supremacy.
Aside from being two of the best food cities in the country, both towns also feature teams that are set to dominate the West for the foreseeable future.
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The Grizzlies surprised the league when their young team — led by rising superstar point guard Ja Morant — cruised through the 2021-2022 regular season and grabbed the second seed in their conference by a comfortable margin.
They continued their impressive run into the postseason, downing the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves in six games. Their luck ran out, as they encountered the injury bug and fell to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in six in the Western Conference Semifinals.
With the core of their squad being so young and still on the upward curve of their development, it would be a surprise if they didn’t repeat their performance from last year or even exceed it.
The New Orleans Pelicans took a different development track, trading for Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum to star alongside Zion Williamson. Their front office has done a fantastic job capitalizing on their later picks in the draft, though, uncovering solid role players who should be able to contribute for a long time in Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado, and Trey Murphy III.
Both teams aren’t where they thought they’d be nearly a quarter of the way through the regular season. At the time of writing, the Grizzlies sit sixth in the conference with a 10-7 record, and the Pellies trail just behind them in eighth at 9-7. While both have the talent necessary to theoretically make it through the West and into the Finals, each have plenty of issues to work out before the on-court product reflects the strength of their rosters.
This matchup on Friday could be a statement win for either team, as one young team could put the beatdown on the other and claim their spot as next up in the West. Memphis has failed to topple any of the other top teams in the league, mostly bolstering their record with victories against the bottom feeders of the NBA thus far.
The Pelicans have had the same issue, plus they’ve been plagued by an inconsistent defense. It’ll be interesting to see which team can put it together and start a possible win streak.
YEAAAAAAH @JaMorant pic.twitter.com/7kztPqY5Os
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 23, 2022
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| Title: New Orleans Pelicans vs Memphis Grizzlies Betting Preview
| Author: Andy Quach
| Date: Nov 23, 2022
