The Memphis Grizzlies will visit the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center.

Few could have anticipated the start that Memphis (11-5) has gotten off to this season. After winning just 22 games a season ago, the Grizzlies now sit at second place in the Western Conference. Having won six of their last seven contests, the Grizz are one of the league's hottest teams. Much of that is due to their strong defense, which is holding opponents to a league-low 100.0 points per game. While former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol has had a role to play, much of the team's newfound defensive life is also a product of rookie big man Jaren Jackson, Jr. Jackson, the reigning fourth overall pick, is averaging 1.3 steals and 1.9 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game.

The Spurs (8-8), to the contrary, have had a bit of a slow start to their 2018-19 campaign. San Antonio has won just one of its last five games, though that one win did come against the reigning champion Golden State Warriors. One reason for the relatively pedestrian start has been the team's uncharacteristically poor defensive play. After boasting a top-five defense in three of the last four seasons, San Antonio now ranks just 21st in the league in defensive rating. The Spurs have, though, acclimated All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan to the team nicely. DeRozan leads the Spurs with an average of 24.9 points per game, along with 6.4 assists and 6.3 rebounds.

Pau Gasol (foot) is likely to miss Wednesday's contest, which would have given him the chance to take on his brother, Marc. The younger Gasol is averaging 16.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game for Memphis this season.