Electric Matchup To Watch for as Kings Visit Grizzlies

After a two-day break, the Sacramento Kings head to the Home of the Blues to face the Memphis Grizzlies in a highly-anticipated New Year's Eve matchup. The Kings are coming off a seven-point win over the Atlanta Hawks to break their two-game losing streak and improve to 18-12, while the Grizzlies are on an active two-game skid to move to a disappointing 10-21.

The most significant storyline around the Grizzlies this season has been the 25-game suspension of All-Star G Ja Morant, as Memphis is 6-20 with the human highlight reel sidelined this season but 4-1 with him active. Morant will be playing as they host Sacramento, giving the fans one of the best possible point guard matchups in the NBA.

On the other side of the court will be Kings All-Star G De'Aaron Fox, having an MVP-caliber season as he leads Sacramento to the 5th seed in the Western Conference.

Morant has gotten the best of Fox recently, winning four of their last five head-to-head matchups, but both teams have something to prove in Sunday's game. Despite their slow start to the season, the Grizzlies still have 51 games to play while just five games behind a play-in spot. Morant can prove to the league how valuable he is, turning the bottom-tier Grizzlies into a playoff team.

The Kings have lost three of their last five games, but Fox has been phenomenal, averaging 30.6 points, 5.6 assists, and 2.6 steals with 52.9/46.4 shooting splits. While the star point guard is not being recognized as an MVP candidate, Fox is doing all he can to will the Kings to the top of the Western Conference.

Sacramento's supporting cast has been in a slump, as outside of All-Star tandem Fox and Domantas Sabonis, nobody cares to step up consistently. If the Kings can go into Memphis and get a convincing win over Morant and the Grizzlies, it could be enough to get the team back on track heading into 2024.

The Kings and Grizzlies tip off for their final game of 2023 at 5 P.M. PT / 8 P.M. ET.

Follow Inside The Kings on Facebook and X.

Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Kings news videos and live-stream podcasts!