Ja Morant’s NBA Return Sparks High Expectations for Grizzlies

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00:00Now, one of the big storylines tonight in the NBA will be the return of John Morant.

00:07Super high expectations, make or break, all the narratives are there for the Grizzlies

00:11going into the season.

00:13Their three-point favorites tonight, some spots for against the Utah Jazz.

00:19228 is the total here.

00:22You know, another one of those situations where you would expect extreme motivation

00:25on the side of Memphis and the Grizzlies, but it is opening night, Carlin, you just

00:30don't know.

00:31Yeah, I expect the Grizzlies to come out and really show something here and show the world

00:37that, hey, we are a team that was really on the cusp of getting to that next level.

00:41John Morant goes through that off-court situation, he gets hurt.

00:45They bring in Marcus Smart, he gets hurt.

00:48Jaron Jackson Jr. was missing time last year, so they really didn't have their full complement

00:53of a roster to go forward and really prove that they're one of the better teams at Western

00:57Conference.

00:58That starts tonight.

00:59They're going to be one of the surprise teams in the NBA.

01:01If you're looking at win totals, I would go over on the thing that they need going forward.

01:09And that injury bug, you hope that that is a thing in the past and they can have 70 games

01:13of John Morant playing at a high level.

01:16So Memphis, I expect them to go into Utah, a team that Utah is kind of figuring out what

01:20they are and maybe hoping to get Cooper Flagg at the end of the year.

01:24So a win is not a premium for them, they're just trying to learn and get better as days

01:29go on.

01:30Memphis is really trying to make a statement, and you can't fall behind in the Western Conference

01:34because it seems like, OK, see, Dallas, they're going to win their game.

01:37So Memphis has to take care of businesses and games like this where they're expected

01:41to win and win big.

01:42All right, we've got a minute left, Carl, and does a new opening of a new stadium mean

01:47that you cover the spread tonight as the Clippers open up as five-point dogs?

01:51You know, Phoenix is much better than L.A., and I think maybe they've even factored in

01:55the fact that this is a brand-new stadium that they're opening up tonight, 224-and-a-half

01:59the total.

02:00Any shot L.A. keeps us close?

02:01No shot L.A. keeps us close.

02:03I'm going to say this about the Suns.

02:05I expect the Suns to surprise a lot of people.

02:07Kevin Arant, Devin Booker have heard that they can't get it done for the longest time

02:11coming off the gold medal this past summer with the Olympics.

02:14I think they use that momentum into this NBA season.

02:17They're going to have a great regular season.

02:19Go over on your win totals for the Suns.