The Memphis Grizzlies sat near the top of the Western Conference by the end of the regular season with a 56-26 record. With the second seed, they are set to face off against the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, who just beat the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the 2022 NBA Play-in Tournament.

 

Looking back, the Grizzlies have been dominant against most of the Western Conference teams except for the Timberwolves, against whom they split the season series on a 2-2 outcome. Though they were quite challenged in their regular-season matchups, the Taylor Jenkins-led squad is still expected to play at a notch higher and impose their will against Minnesota in the playoffs.

Without a doubt, Ja Morant will be at the forefront of the Grizzlies' offensive attack as their primary playmaker. Regardless of the matchup set against him, the 22-year-old has already proven early in his career that he can still get his numbers and make a valuable impact on the game, particularly on the offensive end.

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Grizzlies' X-Factor vs. Timberwolves

Aside from Morant, the Grizzlies' true X-Factor in their first-round matchup against the Timberwolves is Jaren Jackson Jr. He may not record eye-popping numbers on offense, but he can still put up high-percentage shots at the rim when needed and has history of being a 3-point marksman in the past, even though his numbers are down the past couple of seasons. The Michigan State product is also a reliable free-throw shooter at 82.3% from the line, which is excellent for a big man.

In this particular matchup, Jackson's defensive prowess will be a highly important asset for the Grizzlies' bid in overcoming the Timberwolves. He is currently tallying a league-leading 2.3 blocks per game, which is a huge increase from his 1.6 average last season.

His shot-blocking abilities and overall defensive presence will come in handy when defending a talent like Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT put up averages of 24.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 74 appearances this season. Towns scores with superb efficiency, hitting 52.9% from the field and 41.0% from 3-point range in the regular season.

Given Towns' versatility on the floor, it will be quite hard for Jackson to completely limit his production, especially if this turns out to be a long series. Even if they get him out of the paint, the Kentucky talent has proven that he can consistently shoot it from deep, as if his win in the 2022 NBA 3-Point Contest was not enough evidence of his good stroke from beyond the arc.

Ultimately, Jackson's defense will have to be at its best in order to limit Towns' effectiveness and productivity on offense. If he manages to put the clamps on the three-time All-Star, it will go a long way toward winning the series. Yes, the Timberwolves also have D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards, who picked up the slack for KAT against the Clippers, but winning the series without Towns at his best would be an extremely tall order.

At this point, Jackson will have to focus on playing within his role and make sure that he gets it done on defense first. His teammates, led by Morant, will take care of carrying the majority of the scoring load on the other end, and we know this is a deep roster that gets contributions from all over.

Given how tough the Timberwolves are this season, it wouldn't be surprising to see them put pressure on the second-seeded Grizzlies in this first-round matchup. Jaren Jackson Jr.'s contributions and effectiveness on the floor will have a huge role in Memphis' bid to close out this upstart opponent and advance to the next round of the Western Conference Playoffs.