The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center on Friday.

The Grizzlies (28-27) are one of the hottest teams in the NBA and it's truly amazing just how much this team has improved. After getting rid of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol over the last year, many people expected this team to have a long rebuild ahead of them. While they struggled last season. this year has been anything but. Players like Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr have come in and carried this club to the eight-seed in the west. They're now five games up on the Portland Trail Blazers in ninth and building that sort of gap shows just how well this team has been playing. In total, they enter this matchup winning 15 of their last 20 games in total, making this a club no one wants to face come playoff time.

The Lakers (41-12) come into this matchup winning five of their last six games. Stretches like that have become commonplace for this team this season and it has them sitting atop the Western Conference. The dynamic duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James simply couldn't have worked out better, with both guys thriving in their respective roles. James is actually leading the league with nearly 11 assists per game while Davis is regularly providing 25-point double-doubles. That pairs beautifully with role players like Dwight Howard, Avery Bradley and Danny Green who are all great defenders in their own right. That's a recipe for success and it has the Lakers as one of the favorites to land the Larry O'Brien Trophy this season.

These teams have played twice this season, with the Lakers prevailing in both outings. Prior to that, the Grizzlies won four of their previous six matchups with Los Angeles.