Opinion: Grizzlies upset over the Nuggets impressive with all of their injuries

Ty Jerome (Google Images)

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Denver Nuggets 125-118 on Wednesday at the Fedex Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. The game was considered a significant upset because the Grizzlies were a 12.5 point underdog.

The reason why the Grizzlies were such a heavy underdog is because of all of their injuries. Four of their key players are hurt. They included point guard Ja Morant of Dalzell, South Carolina (elbow), power forward Santi Aldama of Las Palmas, Spain (knee), point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. of Portland, Oregon (toe) and Canadian center Zach Edey of Toronto, Ontario (ankle). 

A major reason why the Grizzlies beat the Nuggets was because of the fact the starting five played impressively as a unit. All five of the Grizzlies who began the game reached double digits in points. Shooting guard Ty Jerome of New York, New York led the way with 21 points. He was followed by Canadian power forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper of Montreal, Quebec (19 points), power forward GG Jackson II of Columbia, South Carolina (16 points), shooting guard Cedric Coward of Fresno, California (15 points), and shooting guard Jaylen Wells of Sacramento, California (11 points). Meanwhile, power forward Taylor Hendricks of Fort Lauderdale, Florida had 13 points off the bench.

It should be noted with the 21 point performance, Jerome now has 20.2 points per game which leads the Grizzlies. That is 0.7 more points per game than Morant.

One could argue that the Nuggets should not have been a double digit favourite. That is because they were playing the second game of a back-to-back. The Grizzlies improved to 24 wins and 44 losses with the win.