PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns (30-34) are looking to carry positive momentum from the last week of action into tonight - as they look to avoid being swept at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies (40-24) in game three of a four-game road trip.
The Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks in fairly convincing fashion yesterday, while Memphis escaped the New Orleans Pelicans.
Both teams are relatively healthy and they will look to replicate the trio of quality matchups earlier in the season
A brief preview of the game ahead:
The Suns saw a substantial boost in playoff odds over the last week due to unfortunate circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks.
They took advantage of the unforeseen chaos for the most part - nearly going 3-0 in a challenging week of action.
Today, they look to take down a quality Memphis squad for the first time this season after previously narrowly losing the previously three matchups.
At 30-34, the Suns are likely to need at least 38 victories to snatch the final play-in spot - tonight is a prime opportunity to continue to work towards that goal.
Memphis is a virtual lock for the playoffs at this stage, but they have slipped from the two seed to the four seed over the last two weeks.
The LeBron James injury puts the Grizzlies in position to pass the Los Angeles Lakers in the next week-plus - defeating the Suns today would bring them within a half game of re-taking a top three spot.
Memphis will look to rely on a balanced squad that also happens to be amongst the most efficient on offense across the entire league to avoid being on the side of the bracket that the Oklahoma City Thunder will be on.
Morant struggled for much of the game against the Suns on February 25 before coming alive late in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The ideal course of action is to take away driving lanes for the explosive guard by any means possible - even if it opens up space for shooters such as Desmond Bane.
Morant shot 1-12 from three-point range in the previous meeting - ideally forcing him to settle for those same shots is the correct approach, but the first step is certainly an area of concern - Devin Booker fouled out and Nick Richards nearly did, while Morant made all 14 of his free throw attempts.
Suns-Grizzlies is set to tip-off shortly after 5 P.M. Arizona time this evening.