Grizzlies Within Realm of Rockets' First-Round Opponents

Not too long ago, the Houston Rockets were projected to face one of three teams in the first round of the playoffs if they could hold on to the second seed in the Western Conference: the Golden State Warriors, LA Clippers, and Minnesota Timberwolves.

At the moment, all three of those teams are within a game of each other, while the Clippers and Timberwolves are both 46-32. However, there is a new team tied with LA and Minnesota: the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies have been on a downward spiral late in the regular season, having fired head coach Taylor Jenkins with nine games left on the schedule. Not only that but they've lost seven of their last 10 games.

Memphis was the second seed in the conference on Feb. 27. Now, the team sits as the eighth seed with the risk of not having home-court advantage in the Play-In Tournament. The Grizzlies now have a good shot at facing the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs with just four games left in the regular season. Houston nearly has that precious No. 2 seed locked up at 51-27.

The Grizzlies won their last matchup against the Rockets, 120-119, but Houston still leads the season series 3-1, winning those three games by an average margin of 5.3 points. The Rockets would surely be favored in a first-round matchup, especially with home-court advantage.

The Grizzlies' biggest threat this season has been debated to be between Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. Morant, while the franchise player since 2019, has had a down year averaging 22.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 7.3 assists in just 47 games. Jackson is averaging 22.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.6 blocks in 71 games on shooting splits.

Morant and Jackson are certainly a formidable duo, but Houston can easily combat that with its top-five defense, led by elite wing stoppers like Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, and former Grizzly Dillon Brooks, who knows Memphis better than anyone on his roster.

The Rockets must stay prepared to face a multitude of Western Conference teams in the first round of the playoffs. Memphis is now one of the most prominent teams within the realm of possibility.