Ja Morant's Grizzlies vs. Stephen Curry's Warriors deserves TNF hype from NBA

12/18/2024 03:23 PM

The entire league took a day off after the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Cup. Now it’s back to business and a showdown between Ja Morant’s resurgent Memphis Grizzlies and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors might be the best game on the December 19 docket. Morant missed the first Grizzlies-Warriors meeting, a 123-118 loss in San Francisco. Both squads look to be near full strength for the rematch in Memphis. Steve Kerr will even have Dennis Schroder running point guard for Golden State thanks to a proactive pre-Christmas trade.

Stephen Curry and Ja Morant represent the clash of generations the NBA has been looking to hype. This is the kind of regular season clash that deserves NFL Thursday Night Football level promotion from NBA headquarters. Both are leading teams that should be making appearances in the NBA Playoffs. Getting NBA MVP consideration would not be a surprise and fans will speak to their marketability with NBA All-Star Game votes.

Two million-dollar smile stars and organizations headed in different directions are just angles to sell the league’s fans. Golden State (14-11) is 2-8 in its last 10 games, while Memphis (18-9) is 8-2, and the two franchises have effectively swapped spots in the standings. Morant is slowly replacing the old guard led by Curry and LeBron James thanks to a little help from Father Time.

Other games will be missing stars or involve lottery teams lacking talent in general. All things considered, the NBA should be over-marketing what might be one of the last truly competitive matchups between two generational talents. Instead, the game will not be seen nationally on NBATV, ESPN, or TNT.

Grizzlies getting ready for new-look Warriors

This is not quite the Grit and Grind Grizzlies of old but those definitely are not the Splash Brothers Warriors of years past on the opposite bench. Still, both squads play unique styles worthy of attention. Finding ways to highlight what is different about each team is just another way to draw in fans of all engagement levels. Expect Stephen Curry to have a counter to whatever it was the Grizzlies used on November 15.

Taylor Jenkins crafted a defense that kept Curry to 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting about a month ago. since then Draymond Green now begins games watching from the bench to keep the legs fresh. Jonathan Kuminga has done little to impress with a starting role, unfortunately. Age and a lack of support are just two big reasons why the Warriors traded for Schroder. Propping Curry’s championship window open just a bit longer is obviously a priority and yet Golden State is again fighting for an NBA Play-In Tournament spot.

Meanwhile, Ja Morant has been on a tear since returning from a hip injury and Memphis (2nd) has a 2.5-game cushion over the Nuggets (5th) for a top-four seed. The Grizzlies are giving Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. more on-court time to build chemistry. It’s working out for Taylor Jenkins as Memphis has only three losses since a November 17 win over the Denver Nuggets.

Breaking down the last seven games played by Curry and Morant shows a line of clear separation. Morant is averaging 28 points, 8.7 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.5 steals/blocks per 36 minutes. The former All-Star is only logging 30.6 minutes a game in this sample but that will change in the postseason.

Curry is posting 26.8 points, 7.6 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and a single steal/block per 36 minutes. It would be hard to argue the future first-ballot Hall of Famer is the better player now given the defensive output alone. However, Curry’s 42.1% three-point mark (per game all season) on nearly 13 attempts per game (last seven games) will continue to keep opponents honest.

This should be one of the more entertaining regular-season games on the schedule. Kerr has been getting Curry more open looks as well considering the season average of only 10 beyond the arc attempts per game. Jenkins is running a new offense which even Kerr’s once cutting-edge Warriors and Green must respect. However, Schroder was just stirring up trouble in the FedEx Forum.

NBA needs a fan-friendly solution

Stephen Curry and Ja Morant are marquee names in a heavyweight title fight. Not many celebrities earn the one-name treatment like Steph and Ja. And Morant was just talking about not liking teams that knock him out of the playoffs? Some fans would sign up for a $2 game-by-game pay-per-view option just for nights like this.

The NBA on TNT show has a double header so NBATV would not pick up a competing program. The New York Knicks versus Minnesota Timberwolves are both on the fringe of the NBA Finals conversation. A Julius Randle for Karl-Anthony Towns trade promo has already been filmed for that nightcap. However, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA Cup hangover game against the injury-ravaged Orlando Magic is in the early spot.

If the NBA wants to attract more eyeballs to live broadcasts, finding a way to be more flexible in these situations would be a starting point. Ownership groups and television partners have to see a benefit in being able to push matchups that make sense instead of sticking with the status quo. It is too long of a season, with too many stars and storylines, to stay stuck in the old ways of doing things.

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