Grizzlies at Jazz
THE STORY: The Memphis Grizzlies were one of the trendy picks before the season started. Bringing the entire young core back from a team that advanced to the Western Conference semifinals last spring had expectations fairly high. But those expectations had a lot to do with the interior presence of Zach Randolph, who will be out for at least six weeks. The All-Star forward’s bruised knee was thought to be minor until an MRI revealed Wednesday that he had suffered a torn MCL. The Grizzlies have been fine without Randolph so far, winning their last two, but the schedule only gets harder. That begins Friday, when Memphis visits the surprising Utah Jazz. Winners of two straight, the Jazz are undefeated in three games at home. Al Jefferson, who likely would have been matched up against Randolph, has averaged 24 points in the last two games.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Memphis), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (3-3): Memphis made a move to increase its frontcourt depth Wednesday, trading away swingman Xavier Henry and bringing back forward Marreese Speights in a three-team deal. But the big burden in Randolph’s absence will fall on starting center Marc Gasol, who is averaging a double-double with 12.8 points and 10.2 rebounds. Gasol struggled to six points on 3-of-11 shooting Wednesday but Tony Allen stepped up with 20 points in a 90-86 victory at Minnesota.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (3-3): Utah does not have many go-to scorers beyond Jefferson and needs to put in strong work on the defensive end to get victories. In their three wins, the Jazz have held opponents to an average of 87.3 points. In the three losses, that number jumps to 105.7. Their best defensive performance came in an 85-73 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. Utah held the Bucks to 30.5 percent from the field and was especially strong on the perimeter, forcing them to shoot 2 of 21 from beyond the arc.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Memphis has lost eight straight in Salt Lake City.
2. Jefferson has averaged 14.9 points in 19 career games against the Grizzlies
3. Utah forward Josh Howard (quad) and guard Devin Harris (calf) were injured Tuesday and are considered day-to-day.