This year’s Western Conference NBA play-in tournament could be more interesting than the NBA Playoffs and the Memphis Grizzlies will be right in the middle of it.
There has been nothing normal about NBA basketball in the past year. The Western Conference fully embodies that idea, with a handful of playoff-caliber teams on the outside looking out as we approach the end of the season.
Obviously, in a 72 game season, you’ll generally have the standings sort themselves out in a way that makes sense. But in a year with a record number of injuries and a shortened season, things aren’t necessarily playing out as expected.
The Memphis Grizzlies are the perfect example of an underrated team in 2021
Due to teams suffering from injuries at different times, some squads are approaching the NBA Playoffs in a position that doesn’t reflect their full talent. Look at the Golden State Warriors, who have earned an 8-seed thus far despite missing their second-best player in Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Grizzlies haven’t been at full health all year, exemplified by Jonas Valanciunas’s absence in Jackson Jr.’s return.
But this isn’t specific to the Grizzlies. There are a handful of teams who might find their fate in the play-in tournament who are overqualified.
In fact, compared to some other teams, Memphis has gotten off lightly. Look at the Golden State Warriors as an example. They’re still missing Klay Thompson, and despite only missing six games, the Warriors lost five of them as a result.
Look at the Lakers, who have been missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis for a significant portion of the season, plummeting in the standings as a result. Before these injuries, they were fighting for the first overall seed in the west. Now, they’re only 3.5 games removed from the play-in tournament.
The Trail Blazers, who were thought of as one of the best teams in the West, have gotten into an uncharacteristic late-season slump. They’ve lost five in a row and went from a pretty secure playoff spot to being in the mix of teams fighting for one.
The Nuggets have looked good after losing Jamal Murray, but they should not feel comfortable with their positioning in the conference, even with a 7-game separation from the play-in tournament.
If the Spurs were to go on a late-season run, it would be a very real possibility to see the Grizzlies, Trail Blazers, Warriors, and Mavericks facing off in the play-in tournament. Obviously, none of these teams will want to see that draw, but it would make for an extremely competitive tournament.
Pair this with the fact that single-game elimination systems are rarely seen at the NBA level and you’ll have a handful of highly talented teams in game seven scenarios.
If you don’t know how the play-in tournament works, you can check out our full breakdown of how it’ll go down. Essentially, the 7 and 8 seeds will face off, sending the winner to the playoffs. But the loser isn’t out there. The loser will face the winner of a game between the 9 and 10 seeds.
Don’t look now, but the NBA’s play-in tournament could bring more entertainment than the first few rounds of the NBA Playoffs.