Heading into the final four games of the regular season, the Grizzlies’ playoff odds stand at 99.2% and their ‘magic number’ at one. The Grizzlies can end the suspense and secure their first playoff birth since 2006 with a win tonight against the Sacramento Kings.
Once the Grizzlies clinch their playoff spot, the rest of the season will be about jockeying for position among the bottom three seeds, where the Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets (one game ahead), and Portland Trailblazers (1.5 games up) could still finish in any order.
Staying in their current eighth slot will get the Grizzlies the San Antonio Spurs as a first-round opponent. Moving up to 7th will land the Los Angeles Lakers. Getting all the way up to 6th would set the Grizzlies up against either the Dallas Mavericks or Oklahoma City Thunder.
So, to the degree the Grizzlies can control their seeding, whom would they want to play?
