Ja Morant Available For Friday’s Play-In Game
The Grizzlies will have their star point guard available on Friday vs. Dallas as they look to clinch the eighth and final playoff seed in the West. After testing out his injured ankle during pregame warmups, Ja Morant will be in Memphis’ starting lineup, tweets Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Morant turned his right ankle in the third quarter of Tuesday’s loss to Golden State when he came down on Buddy Hield‘s foot. Although he looked hobbled for the rest of the night, the 25-year-old was able to finish the game and vowed to suit up on Friday.
However, after being diagnosed with a right ankle sprain, Morant didn’t practice on Thursday and was listed as questionable for Friday’s do-or-die game, with Grizzlies interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo referring to him as a game-time decision, per Cole.
Shams Charania of ESPN said during an appearance on NBA Today (Twitter video link) that Morant underwent an MRI on the injury, and while it showed no structural damage, the sprain is considered “severe.” According to Charania, the Grizzlies guard received an injection on Thursday to address swelling and pain in the ankle and got another injection on Friday (Twitter link).
After missing most of the 2023/24 season with a shoulder injury, Morant was limited to 50 appearances in ’24/25, having dealt with a series of injuries, including some recurring issues in his surgically repaired shoulder. He was still effective when he did suit up, averaging 23.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per contest.
As expected, both Anthony Davis (adductor strain) and Brandon Williams (oblique strain) will be available on Friday for the Mavericks, according to the team (Twitter link). Both players had been listed as probable.
The winner of Friday’s Southwest Division showdown will face Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs, while the losing team will end up in the draft lottery.
Poll: Who Will Win Friday’s Play-In Games?
The higher seed came out on top in each of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in games on Tuesday, but the two lower seeds pulled off upsets in the No. 9 vs. 10 contests on Wednesday, setting up a pair of No. 8 vs. 10 matchups on Friday to determine the final playoff teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences.
In the East, the No. 10 Heat will visit the No. 8 Hawks in a second consecutive battle of divisional rivals for Atlanta. The first of those matchups didn’t go well for the Hawks, who really struggled to get the ball in the basket against the NBA’s No. 2 defense on Tuesday in Orlando.
Trae Young (8-of-21), Zaccharie Risacher (2-of-10), and Caris LeVert (3-of-11) were among the players who had poor shooting nights vs. the Magic. Atlanta made a season-low four 3-pointers on the night and shot just 38.1% from the floor, including 19.0% from beyond the arc.
While the Heat weren’t quite as good defensively during the regular season as Orlando, they also ranked in the top 10 in defensive rating and played very well on that end of the court in Wednesday’s win over Chicago. The Bulls scored just 90 points on 39.8% shooting (27.0% on three-pointers). As the Hawks return home, they’ll need to figure out how to make more headway against the Heat’s defense than they did against the Magic’s.
The Hawks, who won 12 of their last 20 games of the regular season, had more momentum entering the play-in tournament than the Heat, who won just 12 of their last 33. Atlanta will also have home-court advantage on Friday.
But the two teams split their season series, and given how the first round of the play-in tournament played out, oddsmakers aren’t willing to give Atlanta the typical edge that would be awarded to the higher seed and home team. As I was writing this article, BetOnline.ag modified their betting line, which had been a pick-em, to make the Heat one-point favorites.
Over in the West, it’s the No. 8 Grizzlies hosting the No. 10 Mavericks in a battle of teams whose seasons have taken a nose-dive since the trade deadline. While Dallas was hammered by injuries and has been dealing with the fallout of the immensely unpopular Luka Doncic trade, Memphis has undergone a head coaching change and fell several spots in the standings.
The only reason the Grizzlies didn’t have the worst record (13-18) among all 10 Western Conference playoff/play-in teams between February 7 and the end of the regular season is because the Mavericks (12-18) were slightly worse.
Both teams were competitive in their first play-in matchups though. Memphis took the Warriors down to the wire in Golden State on Tuesday, while Dallas comfortably handled the Kings in Sacramento on Wednesday. There’s no shortage of talent on either roster, especially in the frontcourt, where Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. is a candidate for All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year honors, while Mavericks big man Anthony Davis would have been too if he’d played enough games to qualify.
The Mavs’ Achilles heel is in their backcourt, where star point guard Kyrie Irving is unavailable after going down in March with a season-ending ACL tear. Dallas actually went without a starting point guard vs. Sacramento, rolling with a jumbo lineup featuring Davis, Dereck Lively, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, and Klay Thompson.
But former two-way player Brandon Williams, who was promoted to the 15-man roster in the final week of the season, showed why Dallas wanted him for the postseason. The undrafted point guard put up 17 points and five assists in 18 minutes off the bench — the Mavs outscored Sacramento by 24 points during those minutes.
The Grizzlies’ own star point guard, Ja Morant, vowed to play in Friday’s do-or-die game, but it remains to be seen how effective he’ll be. Morant sustained a sprained right ankle on Tuesday and clearly lost a step late in the game as he tried to play through that injury.
Home-court advantage could end up being a real factor here. The Grizzlies posted a 26-15 record in Memphis this season, while the Mavs went just 17-25 on the road. That’s likely a major reason why the oddsmakers at BetOnline currently have Memphis as the six-point favorite.
We want to know what you think. Will either the Heat or Mavericks become the first No. 10 seed since the play-in tournament was implemented in 2021 to earn a playoff spot? Or will the Hawks and Grizzlies defend their home courts and earn first-round series against Cleveland and Oklahoma City, respectively?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions!
Southwest Notes: Thompson, Harrison, Dumars, Udoka
The Mavericks‘ play-in game victory in Sacramento had special meaning to Klay Thompson. He scored 23 points against the Kings, making five three-pointers along the way. Thompson missed all 10 of his field goal attempts last season against Sacramento in the play-in tournament, which wound up being his last game in a Warriors uniform.
“I wasn’t going to define myself off one bad shooting night,” he said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “I mean, I’ve had some of the greatest shooting nights in the history of the game. So even someone in my caliber can go 0-for. … I try to not even think about that, but at times you do because you’re human. But you just keep going out there and do what you love.”
Dallas will now battle the Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed on Friday.
“I’m still alive. I’m excited,” Thompson said. “I get to go to Memphis. It was really fun (Wednesday) because you could just be fully immersed in the experience, and we’ve had a tumultuous season, to say the least. The injury bug has struck us like I’ve never seen before, but we’re still here playing postseason basketball.”
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison‘s contentious press conference, in which he stated he didn’t regret trading Luka Doncic, wasn’t something he suggested, ESPN’s Sham Charania tweets. “Nico Harrison did not want to do this closed-door roundtable. This was not his idea,” Charania said during an appearance on NBA Countdown. “This was something that was enforced by their owner, Patrick Dumont.”
- Now that Joe Dumars has been officially hired as the Pelicans president of basketball operations, he has two big decisions to make, Rod Walker of NOLA.com writes. His first major decision will be whether to retain head coach Willie Green. As the offseason progresses, he’ll have to choose whether to retain Zion Williamson as the franchise player or trade him and take the franchise in another direction.
- Dumars has spent the last three years as the NBA’s head of basketball operations and commissioner Adam Silver thanked him for his service in a statement relayed by The Athletic’s Sam Amick (Twitter link). “Joe brought tremendous credibility to his role at the league office and is one of the most genuine and respected people in all of basketball,” Silver said. “His exceptional playing career and tenure as an executive provided him with an elite understanding of the game and strong relationships around the NBA. We are grateful for Joe’s leadership over the past three years and wish him well as he begins his new role with the Pelicans.”
- The Warriors are actually the betting favorite to win their first-round series against Houston even though the Rockets are the No. 2 seed. Much of that is due to Golden State’s wealth of playoff experience — Rockets coach Ime Udoka says he and his staff will have to do their best to neutralize that advantage. “The experience for our young guys will be new,” he hold Mark Medina of Athlon Sports. “But as far as me and my staff and what we’ve experienced, I don’t think there is a whole lot that’s going to surprise us or be different. It’s just our young guys getting experience for the first time and going through the playoff prep and all the specifics of how much more you have to dig in.”
Grizzlies Notes: Play-In, Morant, Jackson, First-Round Pick
The Grizzlies had a 35-16 record at the trade deadline, but finished the season on a 13-18 run and lost their first play-in game on Tuesday vs. Golden State. After falling behind by 16 points in the first half, Memphis fought its way back and trailed by just three points in the game’s final seconds, but was unable to inbound the ball on a crucial possession and was called for a five-second violation (Twitter video link via Bleacher Report).
The loss means that the Grizzlies will face a win-or-go-home game on Friday in Memphis, when they host the winner of Wednesday’s Kings/Mavericks matchup for the right to earn the No. 8 seed in the West and a first-round matchup with the 68-win Thunder.
“It’s just frustrating because of how far we fell,” Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. said on Tuesday, per William Guillory of The Athletic. “I wouldn’t say we were confident in where we were at, but the fall has been pretty hard on the team. … It’s definitely doable, but we put ourselves in this spot.”
The Grizzlies held a top-five spot in the Western Conference standings for more than four months from November through the end of March before falling to sixth at the start of April, seventh a day later, and eighth on April 11.
Here’s more on the Grizzlies:
- Star point guard Ja Morant turned his right ankle in the third quarter of Tuesday’s loss when he came down on Buddy Hield‘s foot (Twitter video link via Bleacher Report). Although he looked hobbled for the rest of the night, Morant was able to finish the game and said he fully intends to suit up on Friday, as Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal relays. “I’m playing,” Morant said. “That’s basically the answer I’m giving. It ain’t nothing different.”
- Within a story about Jaren Jackson Jr.‘s emergence as an NBA star, Guillory of The Athletic notes that the big man’s increased usage rate for an injury-plagued Memphis team in 2023/24 paved the way for him to put up the best offensive season in ’24/25. “It was everything. It gave me a chance to be defended by teams in a specific way,” Jackson told Guillory. “(Opposing teams) were throwing all types of crazy coverages and schemes out there. There were a lot of things I had to learn. It presented me with a new challenge. … Usually, my job was to just get it and score. But I had to learn to set up my teammates; make sure they were involved. That was a big step for me.” An All-NBA candidate this spring, Jackson would become eligible for a super-max extension worth up to a projected $345MM over five years if he’s named to one of the three All-NBA teams.
- Friday’s game will have major draft implications for the Grizzlies, who agreed in February to send their 2025 first-round pick to Washington if it lands outside of the lottery. It seemed like a safe bet at the time that the Wizards would receive that first-rounder, but if Memphis loses on Friday, the Grizzlies would keep the pick (No. 14 in the lottery standings) and Washington would instead receive a pair of second-rounders — either the Celtics’, Pacers’, Clippers’, or Heat’s 2026 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable), plus the Hawks’ 2027 second-round pick. If the Grizzlies win on Friday, the Wizards would acquire their first-round pick, which would land at either No. 18, 19, or 20, depending on the results of a Monday tiebreaker.
Poll: Who Will Win Tuesday’s Play-In Games?
The Grizzlies were tied for second place in the West as recently as March 14, while the Warriors held a top-five spot in the conference for the entire first week of April. However, neither Memphis nor Golden State was able to lock up a guaranteed playoff spot in the final days of the regular season.
The two teams will face one another on Tuesday in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game for the Western Conference, with the winner earning the right to enter the playoffs as the seventh seed and match up with Houston in round one.
Although the Warriors and Grizzlies finished the season with matching 48-34 records, the two clubs were headed in opposite directions down the stretch.
Hours after finalizing a trade for Jimmy Butler on February 6, Golden State fell to 25-26 on the season and held the No. 10 seed in the West only by a tiebreaker. But the Warriors won Butler’s debut two days later and never fell below .500 again, finishing the season on a 23-8 run. During that stretch, Golden State had the NBA’s third-best winning percentage (.742), eight-best offensive rating (118.2) and top defensive rating (109.0).
The Warriors aren’t entering the postseason as one of the title favorites, having stumbled a little as of late — they would have clinched a playoff berth already if they hadn’t lost three of their last five games, including a disappointing defeat to the lottery-bound Spurs last Wednesday. But they’ve certainly looked better than the Grizzlies, whose season has been trending downward in recent months.
On the day of the trade deadline, the Grizzlies had a 35-16 record. But two days later, on the same day the Warriors won Butler’s debut, Memphis lost to Oklahoma City to kick off an uninspiring stretch that saw the team finish the season by going just 13-18. Lottery teams like Portland and Toronto had better records during that stretch than the Grizzlies, who ranked in the bottom half of the league in both offensive rating (115.6) and defensive rating (116.0) from Feb. 8 onward.
Oh, and Memphis also made a head coaching change during that time, replacing Taylor Jenkins with assistant Tuomas Iisalo on March 28. The Grizzlies have a 4-5 record since that change.
The Grizzlies have plenty of talent on their roster and Warriors stars Stephen Curry (thumb) and Butler (thigh) are dealing with nagging ailments, so the result of Tuesday’s Western Conference play-in game is hardly a foregone conclusion. Still, after accounting for the Warriors’ 3-1 record vs. Memphis this season and the fact that they’ll be hosting Tuesday’s play-in game in San Francisco, it’s not hard to understand why Golden State is considered a good bet to advance — BetOnline.ag has the Warriors listed as seven-point favorites.
Over in the East, it’s a battle of the year’s top Southeast teams on Tuesday, as the No. 7 Magic (41-41) host the No. 8 Hawks (40-42). The winner will claim the seventh seed and face Boston in the first round of the playoffs.
It has been an odd season in Orlando, where the Magic looked like one of the conference’s top teams in early going despite losing Paolo Banchero and then Franz Wagner to oblique tears that sidelined them for extended periods. But the Magic’s injury issues – which also ended Jalen Suggs‘ and Moritz Wagner‘s seasons early – eventually caught up with them, resulting in a 12-26 midseason swoon from December to March that cost the team a chance at a top-six seed.
Orlando finished the year strong, winning nine of its last 12 games, and performed very well defensively on the season as a whole, registering the league’s second-best defensive rating (109.1). But even with Banchero and Wagner on the court, the Magic struggled to score — their 108.9 offensive rating ranked 27th in the NBA, ahead of only Brooklyn, Charlotte, and Washington.
The Hawks, meanwhile, appeared to be in trouble when rising star forward Jalen Johnson went down in January with a season-ending shoulder injury. They were 22-22 as of Johnson’s last game and promptly fell several games below .500 without him before trading away second-leading scorer De’Andre Hunter at the trade deadline shortly thereafter.
But instead of continuing to slide down the standings and ending up in the lottery, Atlanta got a second wind, led by Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, Dyson Daniels, and Zaccharie Risacher, along with deadline additions like Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and Terance Mann.
As good as Daniels has been defensively this season, the Hawks’ overall team defense has lagged behind — it was their offense that propelled them to a spot in the No. 7 vs. 8 play-in game. From March 6 onward, Atlanta went 12-8 and posted the second-best offensive rating in the Eastern Conference (120.4).
Tuesday’s matchup, in which the Magic are listed as five-point favorites, per BetOnline, could come down to how much headway the Hawks’ offensive weapons can make against one of the NBA’s best defensive units in Orlando.
We want to know what you think. Which two teams will claim playoff spots on Tuesday and which ones will have to try again on Friday to punch their tickets into round one?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions.
Postseason Seeding Set For Western Conference
The seedings for the Western Conference playoffs came down to the very last game — the Clippers‘ 124-119 overtime victory over the Warriors on Sunday afternoon. That outcome assured L.A. of a playoff spot and pushed Golden State into the play-in tournament.
The red-hot Clippers, winners of eight straight, nailed down the No. 5 seed. The Timberwolves, who won their last three games, grabbed the last automatic berth into the first round, joining the Nuggets, who secured the No. 4 seed with their win over Houston on Sunday.
Here’s how the top 10 teams in the West finished the regular season, as the NBA confirms (via Twitter):
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Houston Rockets
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Denver Nuggets
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Golden State Warriors
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Sacramento Kings
- Dallas Mavericks
The play-in tournament in the Western Conference will feature the Warriors hosting the Grizzlies on Tuesday and the Kings hosting the Mavericks on Wednesday. The Golden State/Memphis winner will claim the No. 7 spot in the playoffs and face the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. The loser of that game will host the Sacramento/Dallas survivor on Friday for the No. 8 spot and the right to face the top-seeded Thunder in round one.
The Lakers will have home court advantage in the first round and face the Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. The Nuggets will also have home court advantage in their first-round series against the Clippers.
The seedings for the Eastern Conference playoffs were decided prior to Sunday’s action and can be found here.
Postseason Seeding Set For Eastern Conference
Wins by the Orlando, Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Chicago on Friday night have locked in the playoff seeds for all six Eastern Conference playoff teams, along with the four play-in clubs.
Here’s how the top 10 teams in the East will finish the regular season, as the NBA confirms (via Twitter):
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Boston Celtics
- New York Knicks
- Indiana Pacers
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Detroit Pistons
- Orlando Magic
- Atlanta Hawks
- Chicago Bulls
- Miami Heat
The play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference will feature the Magic hosting the Hawks on Tuesday and the Bulls hosting the Heat on Wednesday. The Orlando/Atlanta winner will claim the No. 7 spot in the playoffs and face the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. The loser of that game will host the Chicago/Miami winner on Friday for the No. 8 spot and the right to face the Cavaliers in round one.
The Knicks will match up with the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs, while the Pacers and Bucks will meet in round one for a second consecutive year, with Indiana claiming home court advantage this time around.
We got a little more clarity on the Western Conference playoff picture by the end of Friday night, with the Lakers clinching the No. 3 seed by beating Houston and the Grizzlies now locked into the play-in tournament as a result of their loss to Denver. However, there are still several playoff berths and seeds up in the air, with the Nuggets, Clippers, Warriors, and Timberwolves vying for the final three spots in the West’s top six.
Postseason Scenarios To Watch Friday
With only two regular season games remaining on each team’s schedule, 15 of the 20 seeds entering the 2025 postseason are still up for grabs, the NBA noted today (Twitter link).
All 30 teams will be playing on Friday and again on Sunday. Friday’s slate has several matchups with important postseason implications.
Here’s a quick rundown of the the most important scenarios in play tonight, per the league (Twitter link):
- The Nuggets will clinch a top-six seed and thus a guaranteed playoff spot with a win AND a loss by either the Clippers, Warriors or Timberwolves.
- The Clippers will clinch a playoff spot with a win AND a loss by either Denver, Golden State or Minnesota.
- The Warriors will secure a playoff berth with a win AND losses by both Memphis and Minnesota.
- The Grizzlies will be locked into the play-in tournament with a loss AND a Warriors win.
- The Timberwolves will be locked into the play-in tournament with a loss AND wins by Denver, Golden State and the Clippers.
- The Lakers will clinch the Pacific Division with a win OR a Clippers loss.
Grizzlies’ Jaylen Wells Expected To Miss Rest Of Season
The Grizzlies have issued a medical update on Jaylen Wells, announcing (via Twitter) that the 21-year-old is “likely” to miss the rest of the 2024/25 season after sustaining a fractured right wrist on Tuesday in Charlotte.
According to the Grizzlies, Wells also suffered a concussion and facial laceration after being fouled on a fast-break dunk in the second quarter (YouTube link). He landed with all of his weight on his head and wrist and was carried off the court on a stretcher.
The good news is that Wells is expected to make a full recovery, per the team. He was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday and attended Thursday’s shootaround.
Wells was one of the season’s top rookies after being selected 39th overall in last year’s draft. The 6’7″ wing appeared in 79 games for Memphis, including 74 starts, averaging 10.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists on .425/.352/.822 shooting in 25.9 minutes per contest. He was also frequently tasked with defending the opposing team’s best perimeter scorer.
With Wells out, Vince Williams Jr. got the starting nod during Thursday’s loss to Minnesota. Scotty Pippen Jr. also had an uptick in playing time.
Memphis currently 47-33, the No. 7 seed in the West.
And-Ones: Howard, Rookies, Stanley, Europe
Officially announced last weekend as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2025 class, longtime NBA star Dwight Howard has decided to play one more season of professional basketball in the BIG3, as first reported by Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
The BIG3 – the 3-on-3 league created by Ice Cube – officially issued a press release on Wednesday confirming that Howard has signed on to play for the Los Angeles Riot this summer.
Howard will team up with former NBA guard Jordan Crawford and former USC standout Elijah Stewart under head coach Nick Young. While Howard played for the Wizards like Crawford and the Lakers like Young, he didn’t overlap with either player during their stints in Washington and Los Angeles.
“I’m excited to join Ice Cube and the BIG3 – especially right after being inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame,” Howard said in a statement. “Words can’t describe how grateful I am for these opportunities. I can’t wait to join the L.A. Riot and try to bring another championship to the city of LA. But, the ultimate goal I have is to help the league go global.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- In the final 2024/25 installment of his rookie rankings, Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) places Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher atop his list, writing that the French forward is delivering on his top-pick status. Spurs guard Stephon Castle, Grizzlies center Zach Edey, Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan, and Bulls forward Matas Buzelis round out the top five in Woo’s rankings, in that order.
- Former Pacers and Pistons guard Cassius Stanley has signed with ESSM Le Portel for the rest of the season, the French club announced in a press release (hat tip to Sportando). Stanley, who was in the NBA from 2020-22, was playing in the G League for the Valley Suns this season.
- In the wake of EuroLeague shareholders meeting this week to discuss the future of the league and the NBA’s potential foray into European basketball, the EuroLeague Players Association issued a statement calling for “united efforts” to grow the game on the continent, as BasketNews.com relays. “Despite significant progress, it must be acknowledged that there is still much work to be done to unravel the true potential of European club basketball,” the statement reads, in part. “That potential is lost when the relevant leagues, clubs and governing bodies do not work harmoniously, but seemingly against each other, without consideration for the perspective of players and fans who are the lifeblood of any competition.”