The Memphis Grizzlies have embarked on one of the weirdest seasons for a team that is considered a contender by many outlets. They have arguably three of the NBA's top 50 players and good supporting role players they have developed organically as their own draft picks.
However, they woke up on March 18th tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the West's fourth seed, one game behind the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets for the two seed. The Nuggets defeated the streaking Golden State Warriors on the road without their two best players but the Grizzlies wasn't able to defeat the Sacramento Kings without Ja Morant.
Their loss to the Kings on the road last night was their second loss in their last three games, including their fourth straight loss in Sacramento. Another stat that came from their recent loss is ringing alarms around the Grizzlies fanbase.
Grizzlies haven't beaten a winning team since February 2nd
Much has been made about the Grizzlies' inability to beat the NBA's elite teams. The same can be said about most teams as there is a considerable gap between the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder and everyone else in the record column. However, even if you eliminate the Grizzlies' 0-5 record against those two teams, they still have a losing record against teams with a .500 and above record.
Their loss to the Kings on March 17th extended the Grizzlies' streak of losing to good teams to eight games, with their last victory coming against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 2nd. Four of their eight losses since that stretch have come to the Cavaliers and Thunder, but six of their eight losses has been by double digit points.
The Grizzlies' record to opponents .500 and above fell to 12-20 after their loss to the Kings and has the fanbase in a frenzy about what to expect come playoff time. While injuries play a part in some of their battles like missing Ja Morant last night, they have had healthy rosters against other teams missing someone important, so it all balances out.
Also, the Grizzlies' last two losses to quality competition wasted excellent games by at least one of their stars in each game as Ja Morant scored 44 points against the Cavaliers and Desmond Bane scored 44 points against Kings. Memphis' saving grace has been that only six of the 15 teams with winning records have winning record against their counterparts.
However, as the Grizzlies' fight for the West's two seed gets tighter with the NBA's ninth toughest schedule strength the confidence in them being Western Conference Finals contenders is lessening by the day.