With the Lakers rolling and the Grizzlies falling, perhaps Los Angeles would have a smooth postseason matchup against Memphis.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Los Angeles Lakers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
With five games left before the season concludes, the Lakers are currently the No. 3 seed in the West. However, the gap between third and eighth is just two games, meaning there are plenty of possible playoff scenarios the Lakers could end up with.
In our latest SB Nation Reacts survey, we asked which of the four teams below Los Angeles, between the Grizzlies, Warriors, Clippers and Wolves, do fans most want to see in the first round.
The answer was pretty clear, with Memphis running away with 59% of the vote.
There are so many reasons Lakers fans would want to play the Grizzlies. The Lakers-Grizzlies playoff series back in 2023 was fun, with plenty of trolling and lots of winning for Los Angeles, as they eliminated Memphis in six games.
Rui Hachimura has had career nights against the Grizzlies and seems to relish playing them. Considering that he’s now a starter for the Lakers, another playoff series against the Grizzlies is likely something he would want as well.
This season, the Lakers have dominated the Grizzlies. They beat them in three of the four games they played against each other, including a recent 134-127 win near the end of March.
Memphis is also a team that is clearly going through a crisis. Ja Morant is once again in hot water with the NBA. He was warned to stop his finger-gun celebration after a game against the Warriors and responded by doing it again in the next Grizzlies game.
He has since been fined, and now we are all waiting to see if he does it again when Memphis takes on Detroit on Saturday.
While those are just distractions and have not yet impacted play on the court, the Grizzlies are struggling in games.
They have lost three of their last ten games and have fallen to the eighth seed. The organization also decided to fire Taylor Jenkins with just a few weeks left in the season.
This is something you never see happen this late into a season for a team in the middle of a playoff race that can still have a 50-win year.
We also polled NBA fans on whether Jenkins’ firing changed the Grizzlies’ ceiling, and the results were close: 49% believed it did, 48% thought they’re the same team and 3% somehow believed it’s higher now.
Now, Grizzlies interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo has taken over and must try to build chemistry, make a playoff push and contend in the postseason with only five games left.
No matchup in the postseason is easy, but considering that none of the other playoff teams are currently dealing with so much drama, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if the Lakers take on the Grizzlies in the opening round of the playoffs.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.