It’s safe to say the Memphis Grizzlies can end up pretty much anywhere this postseason. They’re candidates to make the regular playoffs (top-six seed in the Western Conference) or in the play-in tournament (seeds Nos. 7-10).
All we really know is when it comes to the Grizzlies … well, we don’t know much. The final week of the regular season will determine everything, as written by ESPN’s Michael C. Wright.
“Memphis got the hard part out of the way on Thursday by finally winning its first game under Tuomas Iisalo, with Ja Morant nailing a buzzer-beater to cap a 30-point performance at the Miami Heat,’ Wright wrote. “With so little time left in the regular season, the Grizzlies now need to home in on the elements of Iisalo’s system that best position the team for success in the playoffs.”
That seemingly includes even more of Morant.
“It’s clear Iisalo wants to feature Morant more on the offensive end, but the Grizz need to find a way to do it while also optimizing Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane,” Wright wrote. “Expectations for the postseason appear to be low internally, with general manager Zach Kleiman saying he is looking for ‘clarity of direction’ under Iisalo.
“But if Memphis finds a way to surprise in the playoffs, it could go a long way in stabilizing a shaky situation between the team and Morant caused by the abrupt firing of Taylor Jenkins.”
The Grizzlies (46-32) are officially in the eighth spot in the West standings, though they share their record with the fifth-place Los Angeles Clippers, sixth-place Golden State Warriors and seventh-place Minnesota Timberwolves. All are just a half-game back of the fourth-place Denver Nuggets, and two games behind the third-place LA Lakers.
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