The importance of an NBA game can be subjective.<\/p>\n
The Dallas Mavericks<\/a> and Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> entered Feb. 27 with losing records, far removed from the Western Conference playoff picture. But their matchup at American Airlines Center carried weight \u2014 not for postseason seeding, but for NBA draft lottery positioning.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Memphis began the day with the eighth-best odds for the No. 1 overall pick. Dallas was seventh. The teams were separated by just a half game, meaning the result could shift positioning or create separation in the reverse standings.<\/p>\n Separation is exactly what Memphis created.<\/p>\n The Grizzlies rolled to a convincing 124-105 wire-to-wire victory,<\/a> delivering one of their more complete performances of the season. Cam Spencer led Memphis (22-36) with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting, and the Grizzlies capitalized on 21 Dallas turnovers, converting them into 36 points.<\/p>\n NBA standings impact<\/p>\n With the win, Memphis remains projected in the No. 8 lottery slot, while Dallas (21-38) stays at No. 7.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n As it stands, the Grizzlies hold a 26.3% chance of landing a top-four pick and a 6% chance at the No. 1 overall selection. Dallas\u2019 top-four odds sit at 32%.<\/p>\n The NBA draft lottery will be held on May 10, then the two-day draft will take place on June 25-26.<\/p>\n Any hope of the Grizzlies climbing the competitive standings appears slim. Memphis is 11th in the Western Conference and five games behind the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> for the No. 10 seed.<\/p>\n The top 10 teams advance to the postseason: the top six secure automatic playoff berths, while teams seeded No. 7 through No. 10 compete in the play-in tournament for the final two spots.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Future standings outlook<\/p>\n The Grizzlies’ win carried tiebreaker implications.<\/p>\n Memphis improved to 3-0 against Dallas this season, clinching the season series with one matchup remaining. That means if the teams finish with identical records, the Mavericks would retain the better draft positioning via tiebreaker in the reverse standings.<\/p>\n There\u2019s still room for movement.<\/p>\n According to Tankathon\u2019s remaining strength-of-schedule rankings<\/a>, Dallas has the second-toughest schedule left in the NBA. Memphis isn\u2019t far behind with the sixth-toughest slate.<\/p>\n For the Grizzlies to climb further in the lottery order, they\u2019ll likely need Dallas to steal a few unexpected wins down the stretch.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Utah Jazz<\/a> sit sixth in the reverse standings, but Memphis is five games ahead of Utah in the loss column, creating a significant gap to close<\/p>\n Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.<\/p>\n