The Golden State Warriors find themselves at an important crossroads in their season. The Miami Heat, underdogs in many people’s eyes, are preparing to face the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA play-in tournament. This matchup, set for Tuesday, holds significant implications for both teams as they vie for the coveted No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. The impact is great for the Warriors. As it stands, they are 0-3 in the tournament so they have the unfortunate honor of being the team with the most losses.
The recent play of the Warriors has left them in a dangerous spot. Their recent loss to the LA Clippers has officially dropped them into the play-in game. This loss, combined with their struggles all season long, is an indictment on their franchise. ESPN Research goes over how bad the Warriors have been. This has led to fears of their likelihood to move on in the post-season.
If the Warriors lose to the Grizzlies, they’ll face the winner of Friday’s play-in game between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks. That match is to be played this Friday. This situation only increases the stakes for Golden State as they seek to avoid being eliminated.
Turning to the other side, the Memphis Grizzlies have made major moves lately. After firing head coach Taylor Jenkins on March 28, they replaced him with Tuomas Iisalo as interim head coach. Under Iisalo’s leadership, the Grizzlies finished with a 4-5 record. This year, they are as fired up as ever to take advantage of this critical opportunity with Golden State.
None is more notable than this matchup in terms of playoff implications. It’s a rematch of the 2021 play-in game, in which the Grizzlies eliminated the Warriors and secured the No. 8 seed. The memory of that game still casts a shadow as the two teams meet again today.
Leave a Reply