Joe Paige | Sports Editor
The Memphis Grizzlies’ biggest question is consistency, which they certainly have been so far this year, but if they plan on staying as a in top five seed in the west, they’ll have to keep up this energy for the remainder of the season. Their franchise player, superstar guard Ja Morant, is coming off a weekend in Cleveland as an All-Star starter. So far, the former Rookie of the Year has had an insane third year jump putting him in MVP conversations, leading a hard playing Grizzlies team to the top of the west and beating some of the most competitive teams in the league. This team has depth and an identity entering the second half of the season, if they can remain a top seed in the west, they will definitely surprise some people in the playoffs.
The Philadelphia 76ers just got a major upgrade adding former MVP guard James Harden to their offense, they already have the current MVP frontrunner in Joel Embiid and are only getting stronger. They’ve only played three games with their new additions so far, all against teams that are below top 5 in seeding for their respective conferences, but in those three games we got a preview of what this new look sixers team is capable of. It will be difficult for teams to handle both James Harden and Joel Embiid while also focusing on players like Mattisse Thybulle or Tyrese Maxey cutting off ball. Philly just became a massive title threat and look unstoppable at the start of this second half of the season. The one thing stopping the Phoenix Suns from getting back to the finals is health, their All-Star guard Chris Paul is reportedly going to be out for about a month with a fractured right thumb. They currently sit at the top of the west and are the only team in the NBA with both a top 5 rated defense and offense, the Suns need to fight hard these last remaining games if they seek a Playoff run similar to what they did last year.