The Houston Rockets have been one of the biggest surprises of the season so far, boasting strong veteran play and one of the better young cores in the entire NBA. But on Thursday night, it will face one of its most important games of the season in a bout with the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Houston Rockets go for a third straight win as they visit the Memphis Grizzlies ( 8 ET, NBA League Pass ). The Grizzlies (24-13) and Rockets (24-12) play the first of their three contests in January on Thursday. Entering Wednesday, Houston owns the fourth-best record in the league, while Memphis is tied for fifth-best.

The past few seasons have not been kind to Ja Morant when it comes to injuries. After playing only nine games last season, Morant made a triumphant return to the Memphis Grizzlies. While Morant has been relatively available for Memphis,

Jim Harbaugh's defense appears to have an ideal set of answers for C.J. Stroud. The Ravens' much-improved pass defense can smother the Steelers' main path to scoring points. And you will not believe how often the Bucs blitz on late downs.

The Memphis Grizzlies have been one of the NBA’s most impressive teams this season. Despite missing key players for extended periods of time, including star poi

The Memphis Grizzlies have managed to position themselves in the mix for the second seed in the Western Conference, all while having the most combined missed games among players on their roster, several of which have been by Ja Morant.

Before Monday's game against the Dallas Mavericks, Morant took the floor during his normal warmup time slot to get up shots. There's still no firm timeline on when Morant will be