The Memphis Grizzlies began last week on the high end, extending their winning streak to four games with victories over the Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, and Toronto Raptors ahead of the NBA trade deadline. However, their week ended on a sour note following their victory over the Raptors with a trade deadline move to shed salary and losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder at home.
The Grizzlies were anticipating being a team that would be a buyer at the deadline to solidify their chances at competing with the NBA's best for a championship this season. Instead, the market dictated that they should be sellers which is what happened when they traded Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia for Marvin Bagley III and Johnny Davis.
They also had to attach a first-round pick and received two second-round picks in return for a trade that showed them that Smart's value was low. Getting outplayed by the Thunder in their first game with a healthy roster in two years was deflating but it didn't ruin their ranking among the NBA's best in the new NBA Power Rankings.
NBA.com: 6th
While their trade deadline deal and loss to the Thunder didn't bury the Grizzlies, it did play a part in them falling one spot outside the top five to number six in NBA.com's latest rankings. John Schuhmann of NBA.com expressed that the Grizzlies took a "purposeful" step back with their trade of Smart and LaRavia.
Although the Grizzlies are now winners of 10 of their last 12 games after their loss to the Thunder, their record against the Western Conference's teams with a winning record fell to 6-10. That record becomes 9-13 against the West's teams with at least a .500 record. Their two losses to the Thunder this season have also consisted of them trailing by at least 28 points in both games.
Despite all of that, he still ranked the Grizzlies high meaning the opinion of them remains in good standing outside of the organization.
ClutchPoints: 4th
The Grizzlies had a more forgiving ranking on ClutchPoints this week as they moved up one spot from fifth to fourth. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints really likes the Grizzlies' offensive firepower after scoring 120+ points in nine of their last 10 wins. He feels their only downfall in turnovers, which has been the case for much of the season.
The Grizzlies were embarrassed on the glass Saturday night against the Thunder and in their only other loss in their last 12 games against the New York Knicks. However, the team ranks second in rebounding percentage leading many to believe those two performances were outliers.