The regrouping Memphis Grizzlies have spent most of the season hibernating near the lottery-bound basement. That is not where a roster built around Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Zach Edey expects to live, and it is not where EVP/GM Zach Kleiman intends to finish. Fortunately, the path ahead offers a golden opportunity for Tuomas Iisalo to climb out of an early hole and back into the postseason news.
Getting Morant back into the lineup was the first step, which went very well. The All-Star posted 24 points and 13 assists in a London-based win over the Orlando Magic. Past that, the mathematics are daunting but not impossible. The Grizzlies (18-23) are 6.5 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers (24-16) and Phoenix Suns (25-17), who have spent most of the winter swapping sixth and seventh places. The Golden State Warriors (24-19) and Portland Trail Blazers (21-22) are the first hurdles to clear.
With the season barely past its midpoint, that gap is not insurmountable, but it demands a consistency Iisalo has struggled to find. Thankfully, a critical 23-game stretch that carries the team through early March is particularly accommodating. This period is the soft underbelly of the 82-game grind as 16 come against teams currently projected for the lottery or the play-in tournament margins. Five are against either the Warriors or Trail Blazers.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (left) and forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr. (right) looks on during the second quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at FedExForum with the Raptors logo in the background
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
After beating the Brooklyn Nets as a European send-off, Memphis will face them again on March 9. Even the slate of seven games against contenders comes with a break. The Denver Nuggets will likely be without Nikola Jokic; the Houston Rockets have crashed lately (5-5), posting a losing record (13-14) against the Western Conference through January 18.
Two home games in three days against the Minnesota Timberwolves represent the next significant test. The second meeting (Feb. 2) versus Anthony Edwards marks the final game at FedEx Forum before the NBA trade deadline. Whoever remains on the roster afterward will bond during a five-game road trip preceding the All-Star break's weeklong hiatus.
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The Grizzlies return from their All-Star mini-vacations to play four games in six days, with three at home. Four of the next six following that stretch come on the road, but only the trip to face Minnesota appears daunting if Memphis maintains full health. Morant's number should look a lot better in a month, if still with the team.
Running the numbers reveals both opportunity and urgency. Going 16-7 over this favorable stretch would push the Grizzlies to 34-30. Still, that record may not prove good enough to leapfrog the Trail Blazers, much less the Warriors. It would definitely close the Play-In margins for error for everyone else. The Grizzlies face the Trail Blazers three times and the Warriors twice in the coming weeks, making those head-to-head matchups virtual must-wins to gain ground in the standings. That is the hole the Grizzilies have dug for themselves.
However, fortune favors the bold and Ja Morant's Grizzlies appear ready to make serious postseason noise. The immediate goal is to climb into at least the eighth spot, which guarantees two chances to win one game to reach the playoffs. Finishing ninth means hosting a Play-In game but then having to win a second game on the road. Tenth place means the steepest climb. Now, with the jet lag in the rearview, Memphis turns its focus to a stretch of games that could erase the sting of a sluggish start.
This schedule is a gift the Grizzlies cannot afford to squander. For a team built around the transcendent talent of guard Ja Morant and with aspirations of making noise in the postseason, every game against a struggling opponent is a chance to build rhythm, confidence, and vital wins. The runway to re-enter the playoff conversation is clear. Now, the Grizzlies must prove they are done hibernating and ready to run.