The Memphis Grizzlies fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 141-125 Thursday night, dropping to a 3-4 record since the firing of Taylor Jenkins, and 47-33 overall. This puts them in a three-way tie with the Golden State Warriors and Timberwolves, but are still two losses behind the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.
Although this performance did not alter the tiebreaker that Memphis holds over Minnesota, their horrid defensive performance is worrisome. For a majority of the season, they've had a top 10 defensive rating but allowed 141 points on 55.2 percent shooting and 45.5 percent from 3.
Ja Morant had a great game, finishing with 36 points, but frustrated after the loss had a simple but profane message to the team.
Ja Morant on the message to the team after a difficult loss tonight:
— Drew Hill (@DrewHill_DM) April 11, 2025
"Play some f-cking defense and go get a win."
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Who should the Grizzlies want to play in the first round?
The Grizzlies can finish as high as the four seed and finish as low as the eighth seed. After maintaining a top seed for a majority of the season, they have declined, having just a 26.5 percent of avoiding the Play-In according to Basketball-Reference's playoff probability report.
The way they have closed the season, it's likely they aren't going to be competing with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but if they get the right matchup, they get could make a deep playoff run.
Since the Lakers are practically locked as the three seed, the Grizzlies should avoid being the sixth seed at all costs. They played the Lakers four times, and lost three, with the most recent being a couple of weeks ago, where they showed no ability to slow down Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and LeBron James. The Lakers are too talented and experienced for them this season.
Memphis should also avoid the other L.A. team, the Clippers, and the Houston Rockets. They lost every game against the Clippers and went 1-3 versus Houston. With the Clippers having a healthy Kawhi Leonard, Norman Powell, and James Harden along with the grit of the Rockets defense, both are bad matchups.
The Grizzlies most favorable first round matchup will be the Denver Nuggets. Both teams are in a similar position, having fired their long-term head coach shortly before the playoffs, and currently have an even record against each other.
Memphis and Denver face off on Friday, April 11, which will determine the tiebreaker between them. A win for the Grizzlies increases their chances of a top five seed and play Denver in the first round. They have the size to slow down Nikola Jokić and have an advantage on the perimeter. The Grizzlies have more consistent scoring options and have slowed down Jamal Murray. Jokic will be productive no matter who's guarding him, but minimizing Murray's impact makes someone’s odds of beating Denver a lot better.