Undermanned Celtics Remain Favorites To Overcome Streaking Grizzlies

The Boston Celtics will try to stretch their winning streak when they face the rolling Memphis Grizzlies at the TD Garden Sunday.

In their regular season series, the Celtics took the first game in November 2022, beating the Grizzlies 109-106. Hence, this would serve as added motivation for Ja Morant and company to try to level their series with the Cs Sunday.

Both teams are on winning streaks, with the Celtics booking their third win in a row during their game against the Charlotte Hornets, 127-116, Saturday.

In that game, Jayson Tatum had another huge scoring night after dropping 41 points, four rebounds and four assists. Derrick White also had a superb outing, contributing 33 markers and dishing out 10 assists.

"You understand in the course of a game leads are never safe. Regardless of a team's record, they're always capable of making plays and knocking down shots," Tatum said after the game, according to a report by ESPN. "I [saw] earlier (president of basketball operations) Brad (Stevens) told you guys he was making me sit out next week. So I'll get some rest then."

On the other side, the Grizzlies made it back-to-back wins Friday when they emerged victorious over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 128-107.

Ja Morant led the way for Memphis with a nearly triple-double performance of 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Backing him up was Desmond Bane, who finished with 20 markers, seven rebounds and five assists.

"This was just a product of getting a couple of practices under our belt. A couple of shootarounds," Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said after the game, according to ESPN. "Guys watching film and craving it."

Although the Celtics are favorites (-4) to prevail Sunday, Boston is expected to lean on its defense to keep Morant and the rest of the Grizzlies in check.

The Moneyline for this matchup is -174 for Boston and +147 for Memphis, according to USA Today's For The Win.

The Celtics are sixth in the league in team opponent points per game, surrendering 111.5 points per contest. They own a defensive rating of 110.5, fourth in the league.

The same holds for Memphis, which needs to be ready for Tatum's knack for getting hot. They are giving up 112.2 points per game, ninth in the league. However, they own a better defensive rating over Boston with 109.6, second in the NBA.

The Celtics are getting ready to battle the Grizzles at the TD Garden, with the game being telecast over ABC. Live streaming is also available via NBA League Pass.