- 1 Portland Trail Blazers vs Memphis Grizzlies: Ja Morant meets the team he left, and Memphis arrives rested at 4-0
- 2 Portland Trail Blazers: 49 points of margin from two games, but Sharpe is out and Henderson in doubt
- 3 Memphis Grizzlies: Jerome leads the league in scoring, and Memphis is winning the glass
- 4 Free NBA Prediction: Portland Trail Blazers vs Memphis Grizzlies
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
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Portland Trail Blazers vs Memphis Grizzlies: Ja Morant meets the team he left, and Memphis arrives rested at 4-0 
Ty Jerome scored 45 points on 17-of-25 shooting in Memphis’s season opener against Utah, the most by a Grizzlies player on opening night, a mark that had belonged to Ja Morant. Morant now plays for Portland, and on Thursday 29 October he faces his old team at the Moda Center, with tip-off at 10:00pm ET.
The trade that sent him west was reported on 30 June, with Jerami Grant and Kris Murray going to Memphis in the deal. Grant has started the season with 15, 6, 5 and 13 points for the Grizzlies, and Morant has scored 14 and 12 in Portland’s two games, playing 23 and 27 minutes alongside Damian Lillard.
Both teams are unbeaten. Memphis is 4-0 after beating Utah twice, Golden State and Sacramento, three of those wins coming on the road. Portland is 2-0 after a 124-83 rout of Phoenix and a 128-120 win in Sacramento.
The rest situation is lopsided. Memphis last played on Monday night in Salt Lake City and has two full days off before Thursday. Portland plays the Lakers in Los Angeles at 11:00pm ET on Tuesday, then flies home for this game after one day off.
Portland is also short-handed. Shaedon Sharpe tore his meniscus and is expected to miss around six months, Scoot Henderson was questionable for Tuesday with left ankle soreness, and Branden Carlson was in concussion protocol. Memphis has no player on the current injury report.
Portland Trail Blazers: 49 points of margin from two games, but Sharpe is out and Henderson in doubt 
The Phoenix game was over at halftime. Portland led 72-39 at the break and won by 41, with Lillard scoring 25 and hitting six of his ten threes. The Suns shot 36% from the field and 19% from three that night.
Sacramento was harder. The Kings led by 12 in the first quarter and were up 64-59 at halftime before Portland opened the third quarter with a 15-0 run, finished by a Toumani Camara three. Deni Avdija scored 26 points with six assists, and Camara and Lillard added 19 each.
Camara has been the surprise of the first week, making 9 of 17 threes across the two games. Avdija has posted 18 points and 10 rebounds, then 26 points, and he and Lillard share most of the late-game creation with Morant.
The Trail Blazers have been careful with the ball, committing nine turnovers in Sacramento. They outrebounded Phoenix 56-39 with Donovan Clingan at center, and Clingan closed the Kings game with a late basket and two free throws.
The doubts are about depth and fatigue. Without Sharpe, Henderson is the main guard off the bench, and he scored 15 and 4 points in the first two games before the ankle problem. Playing the Lakers late on Tuesday and a rested opponent on Thursday is a lot to ask of a rotation already missing one of its scorers.
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Memphis Grizzlies: Jerome leads the league in scoring, and Memphis is winning the glass 
Jerome has scored 45, 28, 31 and 15 points, an average of 29.8. He went into Monday’s game leading the NBA at 36.5 points per game, then was held to 15 on 4-of-15 shooting in Utah, but still handed out eight assists and made two late baskets that kept the Jazz from taking the lead. He was limited to 15 games last season by injuries.
The game at Golden State showed how this team wins. Memphis trailed 106-94 with under four minutes left and scored the last 17 points to win 111-108, with Jerome scoring 28 and rookie Cameron Boozer adding 25 points and 13 rebounds. The Grizzlies turned the ball over 25 times that night and still came away with the win.
Boozer and Cedric Coward have given Memphis a strong presence on the glass. Coward had 16 points and 11 rebounds in Utah on Monday, and the Grizzlies have pulled down 55, 47, 54 and 42 rebounds in their four games. Against Sacramento they won the rebounding count 54-44.
Jaylen Wells has been a steady third option, with 17 points at Golden State and 14 in Utah, and Memphis made 7 of 14 threes in the second quarter in Sacramento alone. Zach Edey missed that game but returned to start in Utah.
The level of opposition is the fair caveat. Utah twice, Golden State and Sacramento don’t make for a demanding opening schedule, and Monday’s five-point win in Utah came against a Jazz team that lost Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. to injuries early in the first half.
Probable lineup Portland Trail Blazers: Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan
Probable lineup Memphis Grizzlies: Ty Jerome, Jaylen Wells, Cedric Coward, Cameron Boozer, Zach Edey
Free NBA Prediction: Portland Trail Blazers vs Memphis Grizzlies
Our prediction: Memphis Grizzlies to win
Two days of rest against one day and a flight from Los Angeles is a real edge in the first week of a season, and Memphis has shown it can win on the road three times already. Portland’s 2-0 start has come with big margins, but both wins came against Phoenix and Sacramento, and the Sharpe injury removes an explosive finisher from a game that may need one.
The Grizzlies’ rebounding is the matchup I keep coming back to. Clingan gives Portland size, but Memphis has Edey, Boozer and Coward crashing the glass, and that’s how they won in Sacramento and Golden State. Jerome’s scoring gives them a closer, and he’s had a full two days to recover from a rare off night in Utah.
I’d back Memphis on the moneyline. If Henderson is ruled out and Portland comes in tired from the Lakers game, the Grizzlies’ depth and energy should decide the fourth quarter.
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