The Memphis Grizzlies’ regular season finally came to an end with a disappointing loss against the Golden State Warriors. That said, Taylor Jenkins did a great job getting the team in a favorable position to end the year.
The Grizzlies would have liked to get the win and face off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the game between the 7th and 8th seeds, but they won’t complain about getting the opportunity, even if it’ll take two wins.
Now, each game will see their season on the line, starting with a play-in game against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs are led by DeMar DeRozan and benefited by a strong supporting cast. Even though the Grizzlies hold a 5-game lead on San Antonio, this is a Spurs team that can be extremely threatening. Memphis holds a 2-1 lead in the season series, but a legendary coach in Gregg Popovich could even the series and advance to the second round of the play-in tournament.
Can the Memphis Grizzlies take the next step toward the playoffs? Our contributors weigh in.
Jack Williams (Site Expert): This seems like a game that the Grizzlies should win. The Spurs are the worse team, and at the end of the day, the Grizzlies generally beat teams that they should beat. Memphis has struggled against inferior teams, but usually, they only tend to drop games when they really, really should not lose. I think they’ll be inspired to prove that they belong after dropping their last game of the season against the Warriors. I see Ja Morant having a strong game and the rest of the Grizzlies stepping up.
Final Score: Memphis Grizzlies 124, San Antonio Spurs 109
Taylor Goebel: The Grizzlies lost their season finale against the Golden State Warriors which means they fell to the 9th seed in the Western Conference. As a result, they now have to win two straight games to make the playoffs in the play-in tournament. To start they must face the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night. The difference between the 9th seeded Grizzlies and the 10th seeded Spurs is actually quite substantial and should help predict the outcome a bit. The Grizzlies were 4 games above .500 while the Spurs were 6 games under .500. The way Memphis rebounds the ball and dishes the ball will be the key to their success. Expect a big game from Jonas Valanciunas.
Final Score: Memphis Grizzlies 114, San Antonio Spurs 108