MikeCheck: Grizzlies sense ‘playoffs have started already’ entering NBA’s epic regular season finales
Michael WallaceMILWAUKEE – Despite clinching their third consecutive trip to the playoffs, the Grizzlies enter the final weekend of the regular season still facing quite a bit of uncertainty.
The No. 2 seed they currently hold in the Western Conference isn’t yet secured.
The status and potential return of center Steven Adams remains unclear.
Going into the playoffs, we’re definitely prepared for what we need to do to really get ready for it. We’ve done a good job this season of learning from last season and adapting to what we learned. With experience, you can only grow and get better if you really learn from the goods and the bads. And we definitely have this year.
And the Grizzlies could wind up facing any of as many as five opponents in their first-round playoff matchup. What’s known is Memphis is firmly amid the madness as one of the most intriguing closing regular season weekends in NBA history is set to unfold.
Case in point: As many as nine of the 11 games on Friday will hold playoff or play-in seeding implications. At least two of the NBA’s three slated Saturday games could determine postseason positioning. And it all leads to a potentially epic Sunday, when all 30 teams are in action on the final day of the regular season, with nine of those 15 games possibly settling playoff stakes.
A heightened level of jockeying in the standings has played out the past few weeks.
It has intensified with each passing game on the schedule.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – APRIL 5: Jaren Jackson Jr. #13 of the Memphis Grizzlies goes to the basket during the game on April 5, 2023 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images “The playoffs have started already, really,” Grizzlies All-Star forward Jaren Jackson Jr. realized. “When you see the emotions on people’s faces at the end of these games – people are really sick to win or lose. Each time you win or lose, there are so many different outcomes (in the standings). People are talking about it every single day. A bunch of teams have the same number of losses and wins. I look at it every day. It’s crazy.”
Count Jackson, his teammates, and the Grizzlies staff as fans of the NBA’s expanded playoff format that allows 10 teams from each conference to advance to the postseason. The top six seeds are locks to make the first round of the playoffs, while teams seeded No. 7-10 compete in a Play-In Tournament to determine the final two slots to fill out each conference’s bracket.
Two seasons ago, the Grizzlies advanced through the Play-In tournament by beating San Antonio and Golden State before losing to Utah in the first round of the playoffs. Last season, the Grizzlies posted the league’s second-best record and advanced to the conference semifinals before falling in six games to eventual NBA champion Golden State.
MEMPHIS, TN – DECEMBER 15: Santi Aldama #7 of the Memphis Grizzlies dunks the ball during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on December 15, 2022 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images The Grizzlies can secure the No. 2 seed in the West for a second consecutive year but must take care of unfinished business this weekend. They close their three-game trip Friday against a Bucks team that’s already clinched the No. 1 seed in the East, and then play the regular-season finale Sunday against an Oklahoma City squad battling in the West for the Play-In tournament.
Any combination of one Grizzlies (50-30) win or a loss by Sacramento (48-32) locks Memphis in at No. 2 in the West. Their fading hopes of a late run to overtake Denver (52-27) for the top spot in the conference ended with the Grizzlies’ 138-131 overtime loss Wednesday in New Orleans.
Should the Grizzlies emerge from the weekend in the No. 2 spot, they won’t know their first-round playoff opponent until Tuesday night, when the No. 7 and No. 8 teams meet. The winner of that Play-In game would open the best-of-7 game series on the road in Memphis.
With just two games separating the Clippers, Warriors, Lakers, Pelicans and Timberwolves entering the weekend, it’s possible that any of those teams could wind up facing the Grizzlies. Advanced tie-breaker scenarios are likely to factor into resolving the postseason pecking order.
MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 31: David Roddy #27 of the Memphis Grizzlies drives to the basket during the game against the LA Clippers on March 31, 2023 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images Meanwhile, the Grizzlies will enjoy watching the drama unfold at the bottom of the playoff standings while also focus on shoring up some of top challenges they face from within. The biggest obstacle is reaching the regular season finish line as healthy as possible.
Coach Taylor Jenkins is navigating a difficult path in finding rest and recovery time for players dealing with minor injuries or soreness while also “ramping up” others for playoff workloads.
In Wednesday’s loss to the Pelicans, the Grizzlies were without All-NBA point guard Ja Morant (hip soreness), NBA-leading 3-point shooter Luke Kennard (ankle soreness) and center Xavier Tillman (ankle soreness). Jenkins believed all three players would be available for Friday’s game, but Memphis also lost forward Santi Aldama to a mid-game elbow injury in New Orleans.
The Grizzlies are already critically shorthanded up front, with Adams still out as he recovers from a January knee injury and forward Brandon Clarke lost for the season to Achilles surgery. Jackson, who finished with 40 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in 41 minutes, was the lone experienced post player to finish Wednesday’s game for the Grizzlies.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – APRIL 04: Kenneth Lofton Jr. #6 of the Memphis Grizzlies looks on during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at FedExForum on April 04, 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images Memphis may have to rely heavily on rookies David Roddy and Kenny Lofton Jr., named last week as the NBA G League’s Rookie of the Year, to play key rotation minutes this weekend.
Jenkins reiterated that it’s “a day-to-day evaluation” in making the best decisions for the team, but that the goal remains to win every game they can along the way.
“There’s a lot of good teams playing each other, with standings up in the air and clinching seeds and all that stuff,” Jenkins continued. “But when we talk about it as a team, it’s just about trying to play our best basketball going into the postseason. We’ve had guys out in recent games as we try to understand what their bodies are showing us, health-wise. But in order to play our best basketball, we’ve got to have as many guys out there as possible.”
The Grizzlies are gearing up for a long run.
MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 29: Xavier Tillman #2 of the Memphis Grizzlies shoots the ball during the game against the LA Clippers on March 29, 2023 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images “Going into the playoffs, we’re definitely prepared for what we need to do to really get ready for it,” Tillman said. “We’ve done a good job this season of learning from last season and adapting to what we learned. With experience, you can only grow and get better if you really learn from the goods and the bads. And we definitely have this year.”
These are transitional moments, Jackson pointed out.
Memphis is in the process of wrapping up its sixth 50-win season in franchise history, a run in which the team has had to use 22 different starting lineups to endure. It’s been the most rewarding and resilient regular season campaign of Jackson’s five-year NBA career.
Yet there’s still plenty of work left ahead.
“There’s definitely another level to get to,” Jackson assured. “It’s hard to play these last (regular season) games. But going into the playoffs, whatever level that is we need to reach, it’s got to show at that point. We’ll ride that level for a couple of weeks and, hopefully, it goes up a little each round. It’s going to be tough, but you want to play your best now.”
With some things still unsettled, at least that much is clear.
Published on Apr 06, 2023
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