The Memphis Grizzlies were once firmly positioned among the Western Conference’s elite, boasting a 35-16 record at the trade deadline and looking like a lock for a top playoff seed.
But their season took a sharp downturn in the final stretch, as they closed the regular season on a disappointing 13-18 run. That slump culminated in a narrow play-in tournament loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Despite falling behind by 16 points in the first half, Memphis mounted an impressive second-half comeback and trailed by just three points in the final seconds.
However, in a crucial possession that could’ve tied the game, the Grizzlies failed to inbound the ball in time, resulting in a costly five-second violation, a moment captured in a Twitter video shared by Bleacher Report.
Now, the Grizzlies’ postseason hopes hang by a thread. The loss has set them up for a must-win, do-or-die game on Friday in Memphis.
They’ll host the winner of Wednesday’s Kings vs. Mavericks play-in matchup, with the No. 8 seed and a first-round series against the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder on the line.
The collapse has left a visible emotional toll on the team, as expressed by guard Scotty Pippen Jr., who spoke to William Guillory of The Athletic after Tuesday’s loss:
“It’s just frustrating because of how far we fell,” Pippen admitted. “I wouldn’t say we were confident in where we were at, but the fall has been pretty hard on the team. … It’s definitely doable, but we put ourselves in this spot.”
Earlier in the season, Memphis comfortably held a top-five position in the Western Conference standings from November through late March.
But April brought a sudden slide – they dropped to sixth place at the start of the month, slipped to seventh a day later, and finally fell to eighth by April 11.
Now, with their playoff lives on the line, the Grizzlies must find a way to regroup and reclaim some of the promise they showed earlier in the year – or risk seeing their season end far earlier than expected.
Grizzlies Notes: Play-In, Morant, Jackson, First-Round Pick https://t.co/UtB1wyLW96 pic.twitter.com/77EZ3T0d4z
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) April 16, 2025
