The Memphis Grizzlies plays the Dallas Mavericks this Friday as part of the Play-In Tournament elimination game with a playoff spot at stake.
The winner secures the Western Conference‘s No. 8 and final playoff seed and advances to face the No. 1-seed Thunder in a first round series that opens Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Grizzlies superstar guard Ja Morant is listed as questionable for tonight’s game after sitting out Thursday’s practice to maximize rest, recovery and treatment for his sore right ankle. Without a doubt, if Memphis wants to advance to the playoffs, they will need every ounce of Ja’s offensive power.
Morant’s spectacular layups, the most watched on social media
Before the NBA playoffs begin, the NBA announced the top 5 most-viewed plays across the league’s social and digital media platforms during the 2024-2025 NBA regular season, and Ja Morant came up on top with two spectacular plays that had fans jumping out of their seats.
The moves happened during the November 4th game between the Grizzlies and the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center in New York. The star guard pulled off a layup after he spun 360 degrees in the air against Nets center Nic Claxton. And if that was not enough, Morant pulled another 360 layup later in the game, this time against forward Cameron Johnson.
Some of the top most-viewed plays of the 24-25 NBA regular season includes a Nikola Jokic‘s full-court buzzer-beater against a Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz game. Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls hitting a half-court buzzer beater against the Los Angeles Lakers was another of the plays that were the most viewed around social media.
Morant hopes to help the Grizzlies make a run
The Memphis Grizzlies will need Ja Morant‘s playmaking and penchant for scoring in the paint against a defiant Dallas Mavericks team that refuses to bow out quietly after its controversial trade of superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Mavs acquired All-NBA power forward Anthony Davis in that February deal with the Lakers, but also endured a season-ending knee injury to perennial All-Star Kyrie Irving. Dallas showed flashes of their firepower, dominant defense and offensive potential in their 120-106 victory over the Kings.
The Grizzlies were 3-1 against the Mavericks in the regular season, but both teams insist there isn’t much to learn from those matchups because of roster changes. Memphis has yet to face Dallas with Davis in the lineup. The Grizzlies defeated the Mavericks 132-97 in the regular season finale last Sunday as both teams sat most of their primary rotation players.
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