Five games remain in the regular season for the Memphis Grizzlies, and although they have fallen to eighth in the Western Conference standings, they still have a chance to get homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They trail the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers by two games but lose the tiebreaker, making it unlikely they will jump that far.
However, what makes it a possibility is that the Lakers have the NBA's hardest remaining schedule to end the regular season. The Grizzlies have the 18th remaining strength of schedule with chances to gain an edge over the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets with matchups against them on back-to-back nights next week.
It wasn't long ago that the Grizzlies were fighting for the second seed and had the lead to keep it before their general manager made questionable moves that have them in the position they are in right now.
Zach Kleiman has a huge off-season awaiting him
The former NBA Executive of the Year winner from 2022, Zach Kleiman, has been the Memphis Grizzlies' Executive vice president and general manager since April 11, 2019. His first moves as the primary decision-maker included hiring Taylor Jenkins as head coach, trading Mike Conley Jr., and drafting Ja Morant to shift the franchise to a new direction.
His start as the general manager was as good as it could get after nailing back-to-back drafts with Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke in 2019 and Desmond Bane in 2020. The Grizzlies achieved early success with back-to-back number two seeds from 2021 - 2023 and were expected to be a perennial championship contender as their stars enter their prime years.
However, it has been the moves around the margins that have held them back, as allowing Dillon Brooks to depart may have been the right move after the 2023 season, but his replacements haven't filled the role necessary for what is required of that position. Kleiman's doubling down on youth in the 2022 draft, followed by tripling down on it in last year's draft and this year's trade deadline has hampered the current roster.
Lastly, Kleiman waited too long to fire Taylor Jenkins after hinting at the move last summer with his addition of current interim coach Tuomas Iisalo. Letting him go with nine regular season games left rather than last summer or during the All-Star break has put the Grizzlies in a tough position as the problems they had were already noticeable.
With the pressure mounting up for the Grizzlies to compete for a title, this summer looms large for Kleiman to make the necessary hire and trade moves to make that a reality. All eyes are shifting to Zach Kleiman now that Taylor Jenkins is gone, and he will need to hit on his next coaching hire and pieces to surround their stars to keep on the same trajectory the team once had.