On Sunday evening the Cleveland Cavaliers had to grind out a 108-104 victory at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse against the Central Division rival Indiana Pacers. Going into the game, the Pacers were extremely depleted thanks to the health and safety protocols, they had a record of 14-22, and had lost three consecutive games. Even so, there was a point in the game where Indiana lead Cleveland by 11, which I found to be embarrassing. To their credit, the Cavs found a way to push through the adversity and come away with the victory.
Next came a well-deserved, and much-needed day off on Monday. Tonight the Cavs will close out their brief three-game homestand against the team many fans and media members would consider to be the biggest surprise in the Western Conference, the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis is currently fourth in the West at 24-14. If the season ended today, they would be matched up with the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The Cavs and Grizzlies meet Tuesday night as mirror parallels of each other, up-and-coming teams make an early push up the standings
While the Cavaliers get Monday off, the Grizzlies aren’t so lucky. Instead, they had to go against Kevin Durant, James Harden, and the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center. Memphis walloped the Nets, breaking Brooklyn’s defense as Morant dropped 36 points in a 118-104 win.
The Grizzlies are going to be in the same situation that the Los Angeles Clippers went through during the 2020-2021 season. The Clippers lost to the Nets 124-120 on night one, but then they absolutely obliterated the Cavs 121-99 on night two. Unfortunately for Memphis, the Cavaliers team that the Clippers played last season isn’t the same team that the Grizzlies will be playing on Tuesday night at RMFH.
The Cavaliers team that the Clippers played last year on the second night of a back-to-back after playing in Brooklyn the night prior had no sense of identity. Throughout the season last year, the Cavs looked absolutely lost. The Cavs would go on a losing streak that went from February 3 (against LAC) to February 23 (against Atlanta). During that stretch of time, the Cavs lost to LA, the Milwaukee Bucks x2, the Phoenix Suns, the Denver Nuggets, the Portland Trail Blazers, Clippers (in LA), the Golden State Warriors (on the second night of a back-to-back), Denver (in Cleveland), and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Cavs ended their losing streak by beating the Hawks on February 23 112-111.
If the Grizzlies are the biggest surprise in the West by being a top 4 seed, then the Cavaliers are the biggest surprise in the East. Cleveland is sporting a 21-16 record and are 5th in the Eastern Conference. If the season ended today, the Cavs would be matched up with the Miami Heat in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. They are just one win away from matching their total from all of last season.
When the Griz and Cavs tango at RMFH, it will be the second and final meeting between the two teams. They matched up at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee on opening night back on October 20. Memphis picked up the win 132-121. Grizzlies superstar guard Ja Morant exploded for 37 points. Morant’s Cavaliers counterpart, Darius Garland, had 13 points that night.
This second matchup between Morant and Garland should happen. Unfortunately, there’s a major monkey wrench that could be thrown into the mix and prevent us from enjoying this matchup. Garland has been out for over a week in health and safety protocols. DG hasn’t played since the Cavaliers smashed the Toronto Raptors 144-99 the day after Christmas. Garland has missed four consecutive games (at the New Orleans Pelicans, at the Washington Wizards, vs the Atlanta Hawks, and vs the Pacers). So hopefully Garland will be back to battle Morant. If he is, get your popcorn ready because they will put on an absolute show! Both players absolutely need to be in the All-Star game in Cleveland this season.
But the comparison between the Grizzlies and Cavaliers doesn’t end at the emerging all-star guards (although Ja might be on the verge of becoming a superstar). You also have to take a look at their two young athletic forwards in Evan Mobley for Cleveland and Jaren Jackson Jr. for Memphis. Jackson Jr. is averaging 16.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG this season, meanwhile, Mobley is averaging 14.7 PPG and 8.2 RPG. But sometimes, it’s the things that don’t show up in the box which make these guys valuable for their respective teams. Whether that’s being involved in the pick and roll game, boxing out so a teammate can get a rebound, and countless other things like that, both young bigs are on a star trajectory.
Although Memphis didn’t ultimately end up upsetting the Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA Playoffs last season, they didn’t make it easy on Utah. The Grizzlies played the Jazz tight and Utah had to scratch and claw (no pun intended) their way to a five-game series victory. But when I thought about the Cavaliers and Grizzlies, Memphis felt like the perfect team for the Cavaliers to emulate if they wanted to get back to being contenders.
As you can see, these two teams are on mirror parallels as they get ready for their regular-season finale at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Although both teams can score, I don’t expect this to be a high-scoring game by any means. Instead, I think it’s going to be very similar to Sunday’s game against the Pacers, except for the trailing by 11 part.
This won’t be an NBA Finals preview for this season, although both teams could do some serious damage in the postseason. However, if both teams continue on the mirror parallels they’re on now, maybe just maybe we’ll see Darius Garland and Ja Morant battling it out for the Larry O’Brien trophy in the NBA Finals in a few years.