3 key Grizzlies games to watch for 2026 NBA Draft Lottery odds

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The punchless Memphis Grizzlies have reached the purpose in a misplaced season the place NBA Draft possibilities matter greater than satisfaction. With a 23-43 document and no real looking path to the postseason, the main target has shifted entirely to the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. Fortunately for the entrance workplace, the remaining schedule all however assures one other dozen odds-boosting defeats in accordance to the bookies. However, it is the battles towards the Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazzand Milwaukee Bucks that matter most.

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Tuomas Iisalo You might want to scratch out some constructive culture-building wins over the subsequent few weeks, however the stakes in these games towards different lottery-bound also-rans are monumental. Sitting eighth-worst within the league, Memphis presently holds a projected 6% likelihood on the prime choose and a 7.2% shot at a top-four spot. Falling to the tenth choose is a sensible chance as issues stand.

The Grizzlies have a path to the fifth-worst document, which might bump these odds up significantly. EVP Zach Kleiman would go into the ping pong party with a flat 10.5% shot at one of many top-four spots. Finishing beneath the Jazz within the standings would all however guarantee a top-8 choose. Just clearing the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans, two groups attempting to win games down the stretch, will get Memphis to 9% odds for Cam Boozer, Darius Acuff, AJ Dybantsa, or Kingston Flemings.

Settling for Caleb Wilson or Nate Ament is a much better end result than being left with taking both Mikel Brown Jr. or Brayden Burries. Nothing towards both Brown Jr. or Burries, it is simply that the Grizzlies are hoping to land a franchise cornerstone in a one-year reset, not take an opportunity on one other late-lottery function participant.

Grizzlies bitter on Jazz notes

Chicago continues to be chasing respectability and has sufficient expertise to win aggressive games down the stretch. That March 16 journey to the Windy City kicks off the final hurrah of a workforce feeling the harm. Iisalo’s shorthand squad will face the Bulls once more on the FedEx Forum on March 28. That matchup would be the sixth sport in 9 days for Memphis as properly. Tired legs lead to late-season losses, so followers shouldn’t be too bitter concerning the outcomes.

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Memphis could have to get by an Easter Sunday away from the household, too. The Grizzlies will probably be coping with the Bucks on April 5 whereas everybody else talks concerning the Final Four. Flying again to Beale Street for one final residence sport towards the Cleveland Cavaliers (April 6) will lead to some lag. Those final three games, beginning at altitude in Denver earlier than going through the Jazz and Houston Rockets, will seemingly sap the final little bit of vitality from which ever gamers are nonetheless left standing.

The margin for error within the race to the underside is razor-thin, and these 4 games will finally determine simply how excessive the Grizzlies can climb when the lottery balls are drawn. In a season outlined by heartbreaking losses, a very powerful ones are nonetheless to come.

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