Five games that could define rest of Grizzlies season

This would have been a whole lot more fun had the Jazz not shut down Jaren Jackson Jr., three games after he was acquired from Memphis, essentially for playing too well. Still, there are players formerly of the other squad on both sides. Let's see how much run Walker Clayton Jr. gets against the team that took him in the first round and gave him up. Vince Williams Jr. has been getting about 15 minutes a night for Utah.

2. Raising the White Flagg: Feb. 27

Cooper Flagg couldn't participate in All-Star festivities because he was in a walking boot, but it doesn't appear the injury will keep him out too late. The question is whether the Mavericks are motivated to bring him back, since they are below the Grizzlies in the standings and would like to stay there. This is another of those scenarios in which Memphis can be further locked into a lottery spot it doesn't necessarily want.

3. Clipper Collapse?: March 7

The Los Angeles Clippers have been one of the more compelling teams this season, for many of the wrong reasons. They've cut Chris Paul, traded James Harden and Ivica Zubac, had all kinds of off-the-court controversy concerning Kawhi Leonard, and yet ripped off enough victories to sit in play-in position, comfortably ahead of a Memphis team that has handled them this season. Will the Clippers be falling off, enough to be vulnerable for that spot, by the time they see the Grizzlies again? We'll see.

4. Teams with Similar Turmoil: April 5

There's no natural rivalry with the Milwaukee Bucks, but they and the Grizzlies have been in similar situations this season, keeping franchise players through the trade deadline when it wasn't clear they would. Ja Morant is not at Giannis' level, but it will still be interesting to see where both teams stand by them, in terms of the decisions they made -- and the ones that may follow. The guess here is that Giannis will be pushing his team into at least a play-in spot, while Morant will be long since shut down.

5. Bring on 2026-27: April 12

The Grizzlies close the season in Houston against the Rockets, and the odds are it won't mean much for either squad. But it will at least signify the season is over, and Memphis can move forward even more on a rebuild that may take a couple of years to get them back into playoff contention.

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