The NBA is never short on puzzling stories. The following news has inadvertently created the perfect scenario for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Chris Haynes broke the story today that the Memphis Grizzlies are moving on from their head coach. The organization has decided they no longer require the services of Taylor Jenkins.
Deciding to let go of a head coach with nine games remaining on your schedule is certainly a bold move. That is especially true when considering the Grizzlies have one of the 10 strongest remaining strength of schedules for those nine games.
For the slumping Lakers, the Grizzlies were probably already penciled in as the ideal first-round matchup in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Now, they are undoubtedly the team Los Angeles needs to face to ensure a successful start to the postseason.
Jenkins' firing offers the Lakers an easy path to the second round
The Lakers have been stumbling through the last part of their schedule. The team has gone 4-6 over their last 10 games, and have only won one of their last five. The ridiculous game-winning buzzer beater by Josh Giddey in their last matchup against the Chicago Bulls was the latest disappointing result for Los Angeles.
However, the Grizzlies have had issues of their own. John Martin pointed out on Twitter/X that Memphis has only beaten one team over .500 since Feb. 3. That lone win came against the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks.
Perhaps somewhere in there is the rationale for why the Grizzlies organization decided to pull the trigger on this jarring move. However, not waiting until the offseason is stunning in any case.
For the Lakers, who would face the Grizzlies if the NBA season ended today, there could not be a better opportunity for a strong start to the postseason.
On top of the chaos currently taking place in Memphis, the Lakers have other reasons to feel comfortable in a matchup against them. The main reason there being a recent series win against the Grizzlies, who had mostly the same core, in the 2023 playoffs. The Lakers came in as a seventh seed and secured the convincing upset.
if these two teams meet in the first round, it would likely be a matchup between the four and five seeds. That would mean the Lakers end up facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. That part of the equation is a little less ideal. However, Los Angeles is 7-3 against Oklahoma City over their last 10 meetings. A first-round series win against the Grizzlies could give them the momentum needed and opportunity to figure things out before taking on a juggernaut.
