The NBA's best record meets its worst when the Memphis Grizzlies, perfect through five games in their first season without Ja Morant, host the winless Sacramento Kings at FedExForum in the early hours of Sunday morning, UK time.

It is a rematch of their only previous meeting this season, a 123-112 Memphis win in Sacramento on October 26, and it lands five days after that game with both sides' form having moved further apart rather than closer together.

How the form lines up for Kings vs. Grizzlies

Sacramento's five defeats have come by an average margin of more than 16 points, and Friday's 120-132 loss in New Orleans was their fourth straight game conceding at least 121 points.

Head coach Doug Christie, retained for a second full season after signing a multi-year deal, had his position publicly framed around results before this season had even begun, which gives the losing run weight beyond the standings alone.

Zach LaVine is still producing at an individual level, averaging 26.0 points on 50.0% shooting, and rookie lead guard Darius Acuff Jr. followed up with 34 points and 14 assists in Friday's defeat, but neither has been enough to drag the defence out of last place in points allowed.

Memphis, by contrast, arrived at this record without a single traditional superstar carrying the load, a change forced on the franchise when it traded Ja Morant to Portland at the end of June in exchange for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray.

Coach Tuomas Iisalo built the roster's identity over the preseason around pace and defensive effort rather than isolation scoring, and the results have followed, with a +11.9 net rating comfortably the best mark in the league through the opening fortnight.

Guard Ty Jerome has filled the primary ball-handling void directly, posting 25.8 points and 5.8 assists a game, while rookie forward Cameron Boozer has already produced two double-doubles worth of production on a nightly average of 15.4 points and 10.8 rebounds.

What stands out is how one-sided the numbers are even by the standards of a five-game sample, with Memphis leading Sacramento in every category except field-goal percentage, where the Kings hold only a marginal 0.5% edge.

The rebounding gap is the most notable of the raw totals, with Memphis out-boarding opponents by close to ten a night behind Boozer and Zach Edey, against a Kings front line missing one of its two rotation centres.

Sacramento's one genuine counter-argument sits in that October 26 result, when they kept the score to single figures against this same opponent despite losing, a tighter outcome than three of their four other defeats this season.

Who's missing for Sacramento Kings vs. Memphis Grizzlies?

Sacramento's absentee list runs to four players, with Keegan Murray, Dylan Cardwell and Maxime Raynaud all sidelined and Ben Simmons ruled out for the year after Achilles tendon surgery.

That leaves Christie short on frontcourt depth behind Domantas Sabonis and Precious Achiuwa, with Jonathan Mogbo and Daeqwon Plowden the next options off the bench.

Memphis carries just one name on its own report, with centre Quinten Post a game-time decision after an ankle issue forced him out of Thursday's win in Portland having played only seven minutes.

Should Post sit out, Edey is set to see an expanded role at centre, a rotation adjustment that would not meaningfully dent a Memphis frontcourt already rebounding at close to ten more boards a game than Sacramento's.

Where Kings vs. Grizzlies could be won and lost

The guard matchup carries the heaviest individual weight, since both teams are leaning on a player who did not hold this role a year ago to set the tone in transition.

Sabonis against Boozer is the more even contest on paper, and a strong night on the glass from the Kings centre is arguably Sacramento's clearest route to staying competitive into the fourth quarter.

Player props to target in Kings vs. Grizzlies

The head-to-head record between Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies

This season's series has produced one result so far, a 123-112 Memphis win in Sacramento that stands as the Kings' second-narrowest margin of defeat all year.

Both teams have since played three more games apiece, with Memphis extending its unbeaten start and Sacramento adding three further losses, so the gap between them is, if anything, wider now than it was on October 26.

No deeper rivalry history attaches to this fixture, and with Ja Morant traded away in the summer, Sunday's game carries none of the storylines that once came with his old meetings against Sacramento.

Kings vs. Grizzlies prediction and best bets

Sacramento showed on October 26 that they can stay within shouting distance of this opponent for stretches, and a four-strong absentee list that includes a rotation forward and both backup centres makes that harder to repeat on Sunday.

Memphis's rebounding and scoring-defence advantages are too consistent through five games to ignore, and with a full rest day on their side and a congested run of the NBA schedule catching up with the Kings, the Grizzlies look set to open a season series lead before this early-season Western Conference standings picture has a chance to tighten again.