NBA futures odds: Memphis Grizzlies already have topped Over-Under betting win total

It's not fair to call the upcoming All-Star break the halfway point of the NBA's 82-game regular season because every team in the league has played more than 50 games and some as many as 56. That said, it's still quite impressive that the surprising Memphis Grizzlies (27-26) already have surpassed the win total of 26.5 that DraftKings set on the NBA futures odds back in the preseason. Memphis is the only team to have already gone Over its win total.

The Grizzlies, the NBA's youngest team, were supposed to be one of the Western Conference's worst clubs but currently hold down the No. 8 seed and have won 17 of their past 24 games overall. They have posted the league's ninth-best net rating since Dec. 21.

Ja Morant, taken No. 2 overall in the 2019 draft out of Murray State, has been a phenomenon and is the clear-cut -560 favorite on the NBA odds to win Rookie of the Year. The 20-year-old point guard is putting up 17.6 points, 7.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per night. He was the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November, December and January.

Fellow rookie Brandon Clarke also has been a strong contributor, Jaren Jackson Jr. is a future All-Star like Morant, and Jonas Valanciunas is putting up a double-double nightly while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field. The Grizzlies should get even better once Justise Winslow is healthy. He was the key piece acquired from Miami in the Andre Iguodala trade last week.

Memphis closes the first half Wednesday at home against red-hot Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers. It's the first meeting of the season between the teams. Be very interesting to see Morant and Lillard try to check each other. The Grizzlies and Blazers split four games a season ago. Memphis opened at -4.5 on the NBA odds.