The Washington Wizards travel to Tennessee to take on the Memphis Grizzlies in an inter-conference battle on Sunday night. The Wizards come into this matchup following a drubbing at the hands of the Nets on Friday night. The Grizzlies were on the other end of a beating on Friday night as they dismantled the Hornets, 130-99. The opening tip is scheduled for 6:00pm EST.

The Washington Wizards come into this matchup at 4-5 on the season and reeling after losing four out of their last five games. On Friday night, against a Nets team playing without suspended Kyrie Irving and injured Ben Simmons, Washington fell completely flat in a 128-86 loss. The Wizards completely fell apart in the second half, scoring just 29 points in total. Washington shot an abysmal 11-of-41 in the second half. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 20 points, Kyle Kuzma had 19 and Kristaps Porzingis chipped in with a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“It’s embarrassing,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “I thought it started with our approach. Our approach was lackluster. I think we thought we could ease our way into a game where we felt they didn’t have a complete complement, roster-wise.”

The Wizards are in the bottom 10 in the NBA in points per game this season despite being 5th in the league in FG% prior to Friday night’s shooting meltdown. The Wizards have struggled to defend the 3pt shot this season and are in the bottom-10 in rebounding as well. Prior to Friday night, the Wizards have done a good job overall on defense, ranking 9th in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage.

Key Injuries: SG Delon Wright is out indefinitely with a hamstring issue.

Once again the Memphis Grizzlies find themselves atop the Southwest Division with a 6-3 record. The position is one the team held for much of the 2021-22 season their way to the second-best record in the Western Conference. On Friday night, the Grizzlies blasted the Hornets 130-99 in Memphis. The Grizzlies jumped out early, scoring 41 points in the first quarter on their way to 71 points by halftime and a 24-point lead at intermission. Dillon Brooks tied his career-high with six 3-pointers on his way to 23 points, one of eight Grizzlies players to score in double figures. Center Steven Adams had a double-double with 13 points and 19 rebounds in the runaway win.
“We’ve got a lot of options,” Brooks said of the Grizzlies’ offense. “There’s going to be a lot of open shots. You’ve just got to step into them and knock them down.”

Memphis is #1 in the NBA in points per game through the early part of the season. One reason for their success has been their dynamic shooting from beyond the arc. Memphis sits at #3 in the NBA in 3pt shooting thus far this season. Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Brooks are all shooting at least 47% from the 3pt line this season.

Key Injuries: F Jaren Jackson (foot) is still out as is SF Danny Green.