Memphis @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 13, 2017 ) Milwaukee 93, Memphis 113

The Giannis Antetokounmpo-Eric Bledsoe pairing is off to a strong start, and the Milwaukee Bucks are hoping to move to 3-0 in the Bledsoe era when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. The Bucks dropped four straight and five of six before adding Bledsoe in a trade with the Phoenix Suns.

The 27-year-old Bledsoe publicly expressed his displeasure with the Suns and was sent home by the team after the third game of the regular season, giving him nearly three weeks off before making his debut with Milwaukee at San Antonio on Friday. He collected 13 points and seven assists in his debut but found he was a little out of game shape on the second night of the back-to-back on Saturday, finishing with 11 points while going 0-of-6 from 3-point range and committing five turnovers in 31 minutes as the Bucks held off the Los Angeles Lakers 98-90. The Grizzlies are a team known for making opponents work but could not contain James Harden and the Houston Rockets in a 111-96 loss on Saturday and are 2-2 on the current five-game road trip. "We're not an elite team in this league that cannot go through growing pains as we add and bring guys back into the mix who are out-of-shape, not out-of-shape but not in basketball shape and don't have the timing," Memphis coach David Fizdale told reporters. "These guys understand that, and I do think we can dig out games and win as we are going through it. But, we have to play really well in other areas."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Tennessee (Memphis), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (7-5): Memphis point guard Mike Conley slumped to 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting on Saturday and is shooting 39.7 percent from the floor, including 31.4 percent from 3-point range, on the season. "He has seen all of these coverages and nobody has been totally out of the box against him," Fizdale told reporters of Conley. "He is just going through some struggles, but I know Mike and he'll get his legs underneath him and will get rolling." Another player looking to get his feet under him is shooting guard Ben McLemore (foot), who made his season debut on Saturday and scored four points in 18 minutes off the bench.

ABOUT THE BUCKS (6-6): Bledsoe's presence won't do anything to detract from the role Antetokounmpo is carving out not only as the leader of the team but as one of the best players in the NBA. The 22-year-old averaged 30.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in his first two games alongside Bledsoe and leads the NBA in scoring (31.7) while shooting 59.4 percent from the floor and adding 10.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals. The acquisition of Bledsoe moved reigning Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon to the bench, but he is not seeing a decrease in playing time while averaging 33.5 minutes in the last two games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bucks F Mirza Teletovic (knee) sat out the last two games and is expected to miss at least two more.

2. Grizzlies SG Tyreke Evans is averaging 23 points on 60.4 percent shooting in the last three games.

3. The home team took each of the last seven in the series, with the last road win coming when Memphis grabbed an 82-77 victory at Milwaukee on Jan. 15, 2014.

PREDICTION: Bucks 108, Grizzlies 101