NBA: 8 most anticipated matchups of the second-half schedule

Notable NBA games to look forward to in the second half of the schedule: May 11, Dallas Mavericks vs. Memphis Grizzlies

While both these teams haven’t lived up to their hype this season thus far, it is backhandedly going to lead the Dallas Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies to have an incredibly entertaining game towards the year’s conclusion.

Memphis was without their young cornerstone and reigning Rookie of the Year Ja Morant for eight games and is still without their starting forward Jaren Jackson Jr. the former Michigan State Spartan has yet to return from injuries sustained the previous season. There is an expectation for him to return at some point during the second half of the year, and with the Grizzlies hosting Dallas as their third-to-last game of the season it is likely he’ll be present for that tip-off.

Jackson and Ja are one of the most electric young duos in the league, almost leading Memphis to playoff contention in 2020. When JJJ returns, the team will be very determined to cement themselves as a lock come this postseason. Another team with a dynamic young duo also fighting for playoff contention would happen to be the Dallas Mavericks. Luka Doncic is a generational talent and has proven he can lead a team to the postseason and keep up with the league’s best, considering he essentially is that already in only his third season.

The young Slovenian and Kristaps Porzingis aren’t at playoff berth heights just yet, but they are very close. The team would be doing better had it not been for Porzingis to continue to be plagued by injuries. On the court, the 7-foot-3 Latvian is a menace on the boards and can put up a decent amount of buckets with his versatile range, but Porzingis has yet to play more than 65 games in a season since his days at MSG with the New York Knicks.

Granted the past couple of seasons have not played the ordinary amount of games, KP still has the injury bug and could very well catch it again. Memphis and Dallas are two Western Conference teams with much to prove and a lot of adversity to overcome. The spirit and determination to win stemming from each teams’ ace guard translates through entire rosters and keeps both the Grizzlies and the Mavericks competitive in games much longer than they’d be if Doncic and Morant weren’t in the picture.

If Luka and Ja’s respective sidekicks both aren’t available come May, the game will still be electric nonetheless. Of course, if Porzingis and Jackson Jr. are both healthy for the matchup then it’ll most definitely be a real deal barn burner.