Can Ja Morant and Grizzlies continue to climb?

The Memphis Grizzlies’ streak of 11 straight wins ran out during Friday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks, but something tells us Ja Morant & Co. aren’t done putting their stamp on the NBA this season.

Even with the loss, the Grizzlies’ 30-15 record is the second-best in franchise history through 45 games. Memphis started 33-12 in 2014-15.
The Grizzlies’ streak included impressive wins over Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers (twice), but things will get tougher for the new Western Conference contenders. Four of their next five games are away from home, with their only home game in that stretch on Monday against the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls. That matchup will be followed by a four-game road trip, including a showdown with the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks.

Can the Grizzlies start a new winning streak? See where Memphis and all NBA teams stand this week

Throughout the regular season, our experts (Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) will rank all 30 teams, assessing who is playing the best basketball right now and which ones most resemble title contenders.

Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis’ franchise-record 11-game winning streak was snapped Friday night when the Grizzlies ran out of gas against a tough Dallas team while playing their eighth game in 12 nights. Ja Morant cemented his superstar status during the streak, twice winning Western Conference player of the week honors by averaging 26.7 efficient points and dominating quality opponents like the Suns, Cavaliers and Warriors at critical times.