{"id":696738,"date":"2026-04-03T22:58:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/696738\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T22:58:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:58:25","slug":"the-grizzlies-cant-afford-to-win-another-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/696738\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grizzlies Can\u2019t Afford to Win Another Game"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">The Memphis Grizzlies should try to not win another game this season. They simply can&#8217;t afford it. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">The Grizzlies are 25-51 and currently hold the league&#8217;s eighth-worst record. On the surface, that\u2019s already bad enough. But in today\u2019s NBA lottery system, \u201cbad\u201d isn\u2019t always enough. Positioning matters, and right now, the Grizzlies are stuck in the most dangerous spot possible: not quite bad enough.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">They currently have a 26.3% chance at a top-four pick and just a 6% chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick. That\u2019s solid, but they will need Lady Luck on their side if they want a top-two pick. If Memphis can drop just a couple more spots, specifically below the Dallas Mavericks (24-52) and the New Orleans Pelicans (25-52), everything changes.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6s\">Falling to the sixth-worst record would boost their odds to 37.2% for a top-four pick and 9% at No. 1 overall. That\u2019s a massive difference. That\u2019s the kind of swing that can change the direction of an entire franchise.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6v\">And that\u2019s why losing actually = winning.<\/p>\n<p>The Schedule Sets This Up Perfectly If They Lean Into It<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01knagzxmn58j7503d8d.jpg\" alt=\"ca\" title=\"ca\" width=\"4054\" height=\"2280\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"78\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Mar 30, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Cam Spencer (24) handles the ball as Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) defends during the second quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7c\">The Grizzlies have six games remaining this season, and right now the path is very clear. They face the Toronto Raptors next, a game they should lose. They also face the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, and Cleveland Cavaliers, all games they SHOULD lose. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7f\">The real battle isn\u2019t those games, it\u2019s the tankathon games. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7i\">The Grizzlies need to out-tank teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and especially the Utah Jazz down the stretch. One or two accidental wins could drop Memphis out of that critical tier and lock them into worse odds.<\/p>\n<p>Shut It Down: It\u2019s Time<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7o\">The Grizzlies should seriously consider shutting down any remaining veterans or key contributors. There is no upside to pushing for meaningless late-season wins. No playoff push. No momentum that carries over. Just the risk of injury and the risk of damaging their lottery position. They should sit GG Jackson, Cam Spencer, Cedric Coward, and players of that caliber to ensure they lose. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7r\">The Grizzlies need to recognize the bigger picture, and this NBA Draft could be an all-time great class. <\/p>\n<p>The Reality: Every Win Hurts<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7x\">It sounds backwards, but it\u2019s true: every win from here on out could cost Memphis a chance at landing a game-changing player. They\u2019re neck-and-neck with Dallas and New Orleans. If either of those teams steals a win or two, Memphis needs to be ready to capitalize by not doing the same. That\u2019s the game within the game right now. This is no longer about pride. It\u2019s about positioning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Memphis Grizzlies should try to not win another game this season. They simply can&#8217;t afford it. The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3795],"tags":[7,294,293,177,4070,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-696738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-memphis-grizzlies","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-grizzlies","10":"tag-memphis","11":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","12":"tag-memphisgrizzlies","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116343257573241924","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}