The Memphis Grizzlies will soon begin their fight to hold on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, and on Tuesday that challenge got even tougher.
Grizzlies forward Justise Winslow suffered a hip injury Monday and won't participate in the NBA's 22-team season restart, the team announced.
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The Grizzlies' performance in the seeding games also impacts the Boston Celtics. Memphis will send its 2020 first-round pick to Boston if it lands outside the top six selections in the upcoming NBA Draft. The pick is top-six protected, and if the selection doesn't convey this season, it goes to Boston in 2021 unprotected. The only way the Grizzlies pick lands inside the top six is if Memphis misses the playoffs, enters the lottery and jumps into the top four. The chances of the Grizzlies jumping into the top four is only 2.6 percent because they would have the worst lottery odds.
The loss of Winslow is not a massive setback for the Grizzlies, but it does hurt the team's depth.
Winslow was expected to make his Grizzlies debut in Orlando after Memphis acquired him in a trade with the Miami Heat in February. The 24-year-old forward has tremendous athleticism and is able to play/defend multiple positions. He played in 11 games (five starts) for the Heat this season and averaged 11.3 points per game.
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The absence of Winslow leaves the Grizzlies a little thin at small forward. Memphis traded starting small forward Jae Crowder and bench forward Solomon Hill in the trade with Miami. Now the Grizzlies will have to put an even larger offensive burden on their two cornerstones -- forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and rookie point guard Ja Morant -- to carry the franchise to the playoffs.
The Grizzlies can still secure a playoff spot without Winslow. After all, there was no guarantee that he would have made a seamless transition into the rotation if healthy. His absence does make the Grizzlies' job a bit harder, though, and that's good news for the Celtics. The best-case scenario for the C's is getting the Grizzlies' 2021 first-rounder unprotected. Sure, Memphis has a promising young core and could compete for a playoff spot again next year, but the West is a very competitive conference and there's no guarantee the team's progress made in 2019-20 will continue into 2021.