Memphis Grizzlies have to beat the Lakers or Warriors to make playoffs
The Memphis Grizzlies season didn’t end how they would have liked it to end. It wasn’t the worst finish in the world, with a five-game winning streak near the end, but there were a couple of winnable games dropped by the second-youngest team in the NBA.
After losing to a tough Golden State Warriors team.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about best, worst, and middle case scenarios. Unsurprisingly, the Grizzlies ended up finishing somewhere in the middle case scenario. They didn’t reach their ceiling but stayed afloat in the play-in tournament.
That said, the position that they have found themselves in has been arguably the worst possible scenario imaginable.
The Memphis Grizzlies have to go through the Lakers or Warriors to make the playoffs
Since the Grizzlies have landed in the 9th-seed of the Western Conference, this means that they’ll have to win two consecutive games to gain entry to the NBA Playoffs. Had they won against the Warriors on Sunday, they would have had two separate opportunities to win and gain access to the NBA Playoffs.
A month back, this would not have seemed like such a horrible fate. But at this point in time, the NBA has taken an unfortunate turn that is not in favor of Memphis.
In the Grizzlies’ first game, they’ll play an extremely beatable Spurs team. Memphis currently leads the season series against San Antonio with a 2-1 advantage. That said, this game is not a lock for a win by any stretch of the imagination.
Even though the Spurs haven’t been the flashiest team in the league, they have one of the greatest coaches in the history of the league in Gregg Popovich. As a result, there are no guaranteed wins against this franchise, even if the Grizzlies seem like the better team.
But Memphis should win this game, which will send them into the gauntlet. Well, not really a gauntlet, but a single game that will determine the fate of their entire season.
The Grizzlies will have to come up against the loser of a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, each of whom has a player who could be considered among the best in NBA league history.
The preferred opponent here will be the Warriors, who the Grizzlies could have won against if not for Dillon Brooks fouling out in Sunday night’s game. Each game between these two teams was extremely competitive until the end, with one team separating at the conclusion of the game.
The Warriors hold a 2-1 series lead on the Grizzlies.
Against the Lakers, on the other hand, the Grizzlies have not had much luck. They were never blown out by LeBron James and company, but Memphis has been unable to top them in three games. If the Grizzlies have to pass through Los Angeles to make the playoffs, I don’t like their odds.
In fact, in any situation where Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and the Golden State Warriors are the lesser of two evils, confidence is going to be low.
Next. Dillon Brooks has shown why he was a steal for the Grizz. dark
At this point, the Memphis Grizzlies should have one thing left on their agenda — shock the world.