The Memphis Grizzlies owned a stellar 35-16 record on February 5. That was second-best in the West, and they were still second as late as February 27 at 38-20. While the Western Conference certainly had a lot of good teams, it seemed that Memphis was playoff-bound barring a collapse. It’s debatable whether what happened since can be deemed a collapse, but the Grizzlies may now get to keep their first round draft pick after their descent in the Western Conference standings.
Grizzlies First Round Pick On The Line In Friday’s Play-In Game
Grizzlies Lose First Round Pick If They Win
With the Grizzlies 121-116 loss at the hands of the Golden State Warriors in the 7-8 Play-In Tournament matchup, Memphis is one loss away from their season ending. They await the winner of the 9-10 matchup between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. The winner of that plays the Grizzlies on Friday. The victor in that game earns the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
It has been a steep drop for a Memphis team that was second in the West not even two months ago. When the Grizzlies play for a playoff spot on Friday, there will be one other team rooting for them to come out on top. That would be the Washington Wizards.
When the Grizzlies traded Marcus Smart to the Wizards, they also included a 2025 first round pick. That pick was lottery protected though. When Washington made the deal, they had to believe that the pick would convey. If Memphis loses, the Wizards will instead receive two future second round picks.
So if Grizzlies fans are looking for a silver lining if the team is unable to reach the playoffs when it seemed like that would be a formality, it will be that they get to keep their first round pick. Memphis would have a 0.5% chance of winning the lottery and having the opportunity to select Cooper Flagg.
Coaching Change Hasn’t Provided Immediate Results
After Memphis was 38-20 and second in the West, they went just 10-14 to end the season. It was on March 28 when they decided to fire their all-time winningest coach, Taylor Jenkins. Inserted in his place on an interim basis was Tuomas Iiasalo. The 42-year-old had success coaching in Europe, but this was his first year as a coach at the NBA level, as he was hired as an assistant under Jenkins.
The team went 4-5 (4-6 if you count play-in loss to Warriors) after the coaching change occurred. Only one of those wins came against a team with a winning record (Detroit Pistons). Memphis fought valiantly on Tuesday even with Ja Morant leaving the game for some time with an ankle injury. He came back but was clearly hobbled. Fans were quick to point out though that Iiasalo wasn’t able to come up with an inbound play to even get the ball in. Down three late in the game, the Grizzlies were called for a five-second violation.
The Grizzlies certainly will try their hardest to win on Friday and reach the postseason. There may be some fans though that would rather see them keep their first round pick instead of playing an Oklahoma City Thunder team in the first round that next to nobody would expect them to win.
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