The Memphis Grizzlies are on track for a playoff berth, assuming they can maintain their hold of the eighth spot in the NBA Western Conference. As of this writing, Memphis is 32-32 but at least three teams are giving chase with hopes of dislodging them and sneaking into the next round.
The teams trying to spoil the Grizzlies march to the postseason are the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans are the team that is bent on making a run with Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson leading the wards of head coach Alvin Gentry.
For Memphis to maintain their hold, all they need to do is to win as many games as possible. They are four games ahead of the Pelicans and the Kings. They recently dropped the Atlanta Hawks and are looking good against the Orlando Magic as of press time.
Assuming the Grizzlies do make it to the next round, it will be no walk in the park. At their position, they are most likely to face the Los Angeles Lakers. Even if the Lakers are dislodged for some reason, the next best team would be the Los Angeles Clippers. To sum it all up, getting past the first round is not looking good for Memphis.
But of course, they will be there to compete against whoever they face. Dillon Brooks, one of the reasons why the Grizzlies have surprised many with their surge, rants that any team they face in the playoffs should be wary of them. He bats that they are a wildcard team and are playing well on both ends of the court, Hoops Hype reported.
“We’re like that wildcard team. We feel like we’re underdogs this year. We’re playing free and we’re playing fast. We’re playing defense and we want to learn this stuff organically. We’ve got guys that work the same way as me. Our young guys work the same way. They want to feed off that," Brooks said.
Right now, Brooks' take is something that should fire up Grizzlies fans. But the reality of it all is that not most see them making it past the first round. The best they can do is win a game or two against a top-ranked West team. Beyond that would take a humongous effort to make it to the second round. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. are there to help out Brooks. But the trio alone may not be enough against souped-up teams like the Lakers, Clippers or even the Denver Nuggets.
