Good morning. Let’s basketball.
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Mount Corcoran, Albert Bierstadt
The NBA resumption could not have begun worse for the Memphis Grizzlies. The team is now 0-4 in the bubble. Jaren Jackson Jr. is out for the remainder of the season. Ja Morant is shooting 39 percent from the field and is 4/22 on threes. When their offense is working, their defense slips (as it did against the Jazz on Wednesday). When their defense is stable, the offense falls apart (as it did against the Pelicans on Monday). Memphis is still competitive, and the first two bubble losses came in really tight games. But 0-4 is 0-4.
Memphis is now just one win and one loss ahead of Portland for the No. 8 seed. The Grizz have four games remaining: OKC, Toronto, Boston and Milwaukee. The three East teams might be in positions to rest stars as their playoff seeds are either locked in or close. OKC is not going to let up, though.
The Blazers have the Nuggets, Clippers, Sixers, Mavericks and Nets. There should be at least two wins in there. If Portland goes 2-3, Memphis needs to go at least 1-3 to hold them off.
There’s another risk for Memphis, of course: San Antonio and New Orleans are only another game behind Portland. Phoenix is another half-game back. If the Grizzlies go 1-3, Portland goes 3-2 or better and the Pelicans finish 4-1 or San Antonio finishes 4-0 or the Suns improbably finish 5-0: Memphis is out of the play-in and the playoffs.
If Memphis goes 0-4, Portland just needs to go 2-3 to catch them, and San Antonio can finish 3-1, New Orleans can finish 3-2 and the Suns can finish 4-1 to pass the Grizzlies.
Now, while it’s increasingly easy to imagine the Grizzlies finishing 1-3 or 0-4 in the bubble, and the odds of Portland catching them and gaining the play-in advantage as the No. 8 seed, it’s pretty hard to imagine the Spurs, Pels or Suns getting hot enough to knock Memphis out completely. But for something that seemed completely impossible a week ago, it’s now not all that far-fetched.
If Memphis loses No. 8 to Portland and has to beat the Blazers twice to get a date with the Lakers, that’s pretty tough. Losing a spot in the play-in period is heartbreaking. But given how quickly Memphis has retooled from Grit ‘n Grind to a team building around Morant, Jackson and Brandon Clarke: it’s fine. This season cannot end in failure, really. It can end in heartbreak, disappointment, lament. But not failure. It is a success that Memphis is in the bubble, that it was in position to fend off more established rivals for a playoff spot.
Overall, this season is a monumental positive for the franchise and the roster, no matter what happens now. Taking a wide view is important. In the wide view, the Memphis Grizzlies are a raging success, even as they potentially skid themselves right out of a playoff spot.
Don’t get me wrong — this is a tremendous collapse. But you have to get pretty high to have an opportunity to collapse. At least Memphis did that.
Scores
WNBA
Aces 83, Mystics 77 — Does A’ja Wilson have the best post game in the world right now?
NBA
Sixers 107, Wizards 98 — Joel Embiid is top-5 in the Bubble MVP race so far. He’s so good.
Nuggets 132, Spurs 126 — Michael Porter, Jr. is still canceled but that guy can sure ball. Second straight 30-point game.
Schedule
All times Eastern. Games are on their respective League Pass unless otherwise noted.
Pelicans vs. Kings, 1:30 p.m., NBA TV
Heat vs. Bucks, 4 p.m., TNT
Pacers vs. Suns, 4 p.m.
Storm vs. Dream, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Clippers vs. Mavericks, 6:30 p.m., TNT
Sun vs. Wings, 8 p.m., NBA TV
Blazers vs. Nuggets, 8 p.m.
Lakers vs. Rockets, 9 p.m., TNT
Sky vs. Mercury, 10 p.m., ESPN2
Links
In The Athletic, Hall of Famer David Aldridge talks to Pelicans VP Swin Cash about breaking barriers, building culture and dealing with sexism despite success. ($)
All hail T.J. Warren, certified bucket.
Why are the Lakers shooting so poorly in the bubble?
Norman Oder reveals that Joe Tsai got a better deal on the Nets and Barclays Center than has been reported, and the franchise sale didn’t set NBA records.
Alex Wong on the bubble features the NBA should adopt permanently, including the play-in.
Napheesa Collier and A’ja Wilson have a very good podcast called Tea With A & Phee, and they had Kevin Durant on, and man did Kendrick Perkins catch a stray.
Football players from Big Ten are uniting as well. I don’t think college sports are ever going back to the way they were. (Good.)
No one knows what to make of the Sixers.
The president yelled about NBA players kneeling during the anthem. LeBron told him whatfor.
Be excellent to each other.
