The NBA loves their rivalry games where star players return to the city they once called home. The Portland Trail Blazers find themselves in that situation once again after acquiring Ja Morant from the Memphis Grizzlies in a blockbuster trade back in June.

Morant and the Blazers will have to wait until early February to visit the FedEx Forum to take on the Grizzlies, but that won't be the first time the two teams meet up. In late October, the Grizzlies will visit the Blazers in what will be Morant's first game against his former team.

The NBA had the opportunity to make this first meeting in Memphis, but they swung and missed at the opportunity.

Blazers vs. Grizzlies Series Should Start in Memphis, Not Portland

There is a lot of intrigue in the Blazers vs. Grizzlies matchup, as the first game in their two-game series in early February at the FedEx Forum is televised on Amazon Prime Video. There is a lot of risk in having this game in the middle of the season.

The NBA trade deadline is coming up in early February, and that could throw both rosters into complete disarray going into the matchup. Given Morant's recent injury history, appearing in just 79 games across the last three seasons, making his only trip to FedEx Forum after the first half of the season is a massive risk for the league's schedule makers.

There would have been a greater chance for Morant to play if the meeting between the two teams late in October were to be in Memphis as opposed to Portland. The Blazers have two games on the road before heading back home to face Memphis in Sacramento and against the Los Angeles Lakers.

After their game against the Grizzlies, they will head out on a four-game road trip against the Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, and Lakers. It is hard for the NBA to ask teams to go on a seven-game road trip, so there is that to consider, but the intrigue in this game is Morant going back to Memphis, not Grant going to Portland, which is why having the first matchup in this series at the Moda Center is a bit of a missed opportunity.

The NBA is also not nationally televising this first meeting between the Blazers and Grizzlies, which is a strange choice. There are no national TV games on the night of the 29th, but it is the only game going on at that time. Basketball fans will be able to give their full attention to the matchup.