Memphis Grizzlies: Best, middle, and worst case scenarios for 2021

Memphis Grizzlies middle case scenario: play-in tournament win, early playoff exit

This is, in all likelihood, what will happen to the Memphis Grizzlies this season. While an early playoff exit doesn’t seem like a positive, this would be a great season for a team that was missing their second-best player for over 75% of the year.

While the Grizz will be pushing for a 6th seed, there’s a very strong chance that they’ll fall just short, and that’s okay. As I said earlier, Jaren Jackson Jr.’s return will be a net positive, but there will be a learning curve as he readjusts to NBA basketball.

That said, he should be enough to make the Grizzlies a favorite if they find themselves in the play-in tournament. The difference between a 7 and 8 seed in the playoffs is astronomical, so hopefully, Memphis can sneak into the higher seed if they’re in the play-in.

This scenario, however, has a sad ending regardless. The real debate here will be that of wondering which team the Grizzlies will be getting knocked out by. That said, this team’s ceiling is incredibly high, so I don’t see them being swept.

They’ll be knocked out of the first round of the NBA Playoffs despite a relatively competitive series, alerting the NBA that the Grizzlies are here to stay.