The Memphis Grizzlies have performed well, inserting themselves into NBA Playoff talks down the stretch. They’ll look to make a late-season push into the 6-seed, where they’ll be guaranteed to compete in the NBA Playoffs. Anything short of that would either land the Grizz in the play-in tournament or worse, completely out of the competition.
That said, they’ll prefer to make the playoffs.
But as the regular season is winding down to an end, the Grizzlies have a few potential outcomes ahead of them. Here are the best, middle, and worst-case scenarios for the remainder of 2021.
I’ll get the worst one out of the way early.
Memphis Grizzlies worst-case scenario: fall out of playoff contention
Thankfully for Memphis, this case is extremely unlikely. The Grizzlies have established themselves as a team that can hover above .500. With an extremely easy schedule ahead, there’s no reason to believe that this could happen.
That said, it’s still a possibility. Right now, Memphis is 4.5 games removed from being out of the play-in tournament. They should be able to, at the very least, secure a spot in the play-in, but if they were to go on a late-season losing streak, it’s possible that they’ll be knocked out.
Hypothetically, this could happen due to chemistry issues with Jaren Jackson Jr. back in the lineup. That said, a regression of that proportion is not likely to happen two years in a row. The difference? Instead of losing Jackson Jr. this year, they’re adding JJJ to the rotation.
Not likely, but bigger implosions have happened.
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.
Memphis Grizzlies middle case scenario: 6th seed and playoff run
As previously mentioned, the Memphis Grizzlies will be looking to achieve the 6th seed in the Western Conference Standings, cementing themselves into an NBA Playoff spot. And while it may seem far-fetched with teams like the Mavericks, Warriors, and Blazers competing for the spot, it may be more achievable than you think.
In the Grizzlies final 11 games, they’ll only face 3 winning opponents. You do not have to be an avid NBA fan to know how good of a draw that is to close out the seasons. After a brutal seven-game road trip that saw Memphis go 4-3, they’ll be happy to finish out the season with a cakewalk.
And this will show.
In the best-case scenario, Ja Morant and company will eat these losing teams alive. They’ll play effortlessly well, winning at least eight of their remaining games, cementing themselves into the 6th seed.
The Grizz will ride this momentum, knocking out a Los Angeles Clippers team that they beat in two out of three matchups during the regular season.
The best part about this hypothetical? It’s not that unrealistic. It probably won’t happen, but it’s well within the realm of possibilities for this squad.