Former Memphis Grizzlies player and current agent Mike Miller made headlines earlier this week when he warned the league of a motivated Ja Morant this upcoming season.

Morant’s motivation is believed to be sparked by the idea that viewers have forgotten how valuable he is as an NBA player. In a way, the same message can be applied to Morant’s entire Grizzlies team.

Memphis put together back to back 50-plus win seasons and No. 2 seeds in the Western Conference before an injury-riddled 2023-24 resulted in the team’s worst record in Morant’s five seasons.

With Morant, shooting guard Desmond Bane and several other players who missed a chunk of last season now back healthy, Memphis wants to compete at the top of the west again, but maybe the oddsmakers have forgotten about the Grizzlies. Memphis feels like a trendy team to pick as a riser this season but not everyone is buying into that notion.

Here's where oddsmakers project Memphis to fall in the NBA's Western Conference.

Can the Memphis Grizzlies win the Western Conference?

When the Grizzlies were healthy for majority of the season, they finished as the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Key players like Dillon Brooks, Steven Adams and Tyus Jones are no longer in Memphis. That combined with the increasing overall strength of competition has Memphis expected to finish lower than the previous glory days.

The Grizzlies have the eighth-best odds on FanDuel (+2100) in the west. If the Grizzlies were to finish eighth in playoff seeding, they’d be in the play-in fighting for a spot.  That’s not the goal in Memphis.

Ja Morant MVP chances, other Grizzlies awards

All it took was one encouraging summer league performance for Grizzlies rookie center and first-round pick Zach Edey to jump to the top of rookie of the year projections. FanDuel and DraftKings both have the center as the favorite.

Miller is confident in Morant having a statement-season, and that’s something oddsmakers aren’t taking into account. Morant has the 10th-best odds for MVP (+3400). The Grizzlies star’s highest finish in MVP voting was seventh during the 2021-22 season.

Players and coaches around the Grizzlies believe having Edey at center will unlock the best defensive version of Jaren Jackson Jr. DraftKings sportsbook shares that sentiment. After not making an all-defensive team last season, Jackson has the sixth-highest odds for Defensive Player of the Year (+1800) on DraftKings.

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In-season tournament hopes

The NBA released its five-team groups for the in-season tournament in July, and the Grizzlies’ group was one of the most notable. Memphis is featured in a group that includes the last three Western Conference winners and the New Orleans Pelicans. FanDuel has Memphis with the fourth-best odds to win the group and advance to the knockout stage. The Grizzlies are third on DraftKings, falling behind the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks.

Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What oddsmakers expect from Memphis Grizzlies 2024-25 season