The Spurs’ biggest bully has to go down in tonight’s Memphis Grizzlies match

San Antonio is across the street from the bully who has been stealing their lunch money and tripping them every day at recess in front of the cool kids for the past several years. The Memphis Grizzlies have had the Spurs number back for the 2020-21 season, and while SA won their last matchup, that doesn’t really factor into this dynamic they’ve been forcing down our throats recently.

Memphis has dominated the Spurs long enough

The last time the Silver and Black played Memphis was on April 9 last season. They came out of that game with a 15-point victory (102-87), but again, it doesn’t count. There were so many players injured that night it read like a shopping list.

The Spurs players who missed that game are as follows: Dominick Barlow, Charles Bassey, Keldon Johnson, Cedi Osman, Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell.

The injury report for the Grizzlies was even longer: Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Jake LaRavia, Ja Morant, Derrick Rose, Marcus Smart, Yuta Watanabe and Vince Williams Jr.

Memphis was forced to play Zavier Simpson, Timmy Allen and Jack White 25-30 minutes each. If you’re wondering who those guys are, so was everyone else back then. None of these players are currently on NBA rosters.

It’s hard to brag about that win when both teams were so seriously compromised. Before that, Memphis had won 13 straight games over San Antonio. Yes Morant was drafted in 2019. The Spurs beat him twice in his rookie season and split the series. He has lost only one other match to SA since, and it was the first time they met in his second year.

Morant has been a thorn in the side of the Spurs for years, and it’s time to fix that. Now that Victor Wembanyama is here, the guys have their own star to combat Ja’s explosive impact.

He gets their team going by competing hard on every possession and making electrifying plays with his superior athleticism. It constantly energizes their team and gives them an edge they use to win matches.

Wembanyama will have to match that with some help from Devin Vassell. If the guys don’t show up early, the Grizzlies could take the crowd out of the game and force San Antonio into a horrible slugfest they don’t want to be a part of.

Jaren Jackson Jr. has a special season this year. If Wemby didn’t exist, he’d be front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year, but his attack has to be respected too. Winning this game will require another team effort, but the stars must be stars. If they can do that, they will start a new norm with Memphis. One that sends the Grizz back to the drawing board with only questions.