The Memphis Grizzlies have four games remaining in the regular season, an even split of two road games and two home games. Also, their four games are an even split of games against teams with winning records and teams with losing records.
After beginning the final stretch of the season after the All-Star break with the two-seed, the Grizzlies are currently eighth on the morning of April 6th. The three-seed remains a possibility, so gaining homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs isn't lost yet.
As the NBA enters its final week of the regular season, let's view what the Grizzlies have to do to ensure they avoid the play-in tournament with a top-six finish in the Western Conference standings.
What is Memphis' Magic number to clinch a playoff spot
There is some good news and bad news of the Memphis Grizzlies entering the final week of the regular season. The good news is Memphis has clinched no worse than an eight seed finish no matter how they end their season. That means they would have two chances to clinch a playoff berth, first with a road game to obtain the seventh seed followed by a home game for the eight seed if they lose the first game.
The bad news is the Grizzlies don't control their own destiny to avoid the play-in tournament. Despite matchups with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets this week to break tiebreakers, their tiebreaker losses to the Los Angles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Clippers would comeback to bite them.
At the moment, the Grizzlies only control their destiny to capture the seven seed with the magic number set at four, which is the amount of games they have remaining this season. This number can change at any moment due to it not being exclusive to the Grizzlies winning games.
The number four represents the number of any given number of losses to teams directly above them or the Grizzlies winning. For example, their matchup against the Timberwolves on April 10th would count as two instead of one. This is the case because they currently have the same record, and a win would also mean a loss for Minnesota, leading to the Grizzlies inching closer to clinching the seven seed.
With the third-seeded Lakers having the toughest remaining schedule and fourth-seeded Nuggets having the seventh toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, the opporunity may likely present itself for the Grizzlies to jump into the top six. Their back-to-back games against Minnesota and Denver on April 10th and 11th will likely determine the Grizzlies' playoff clinching fate.