The NBA Playoffs bracket is starting to become clearer after Ja Morant's misfiring Memphis Grizzlies (47-33) fell to Anthony Edwards' trash-talking Minnesota Timberwolves (47-33) in the third-to-last game of the regular season. Newly appointed head coach Tuomas Iisalo and the Grizzlies had full control of their destiny going into the game, but the 141-125 loss dropped them into a multi-team tie instead. Now Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zach Edey are left to deal with NBA MVP Nikola Jokic in a do-or-die back-to-back mile-high road capper versus the Denver Nuggets.

Coaching staff conversations about waving the white flag and letting the main guys get a jump start on the rest and the recovery process were ongoing throughout the fourth quarter. Tuomas Iisalo saw the benefit in getting Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. every minute of extra rest. However, the Grizzlies trio kept pushing forward, trying to make the comeback. Conserving energy for the Nuggets was not on their mind.

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“Yes, very tough decision (not to empty the bench) and not an obvious one,” Iisalo shared. “We have certain thresholds that if we pass,…let's say, theoretically the game is very much out of reach. We were right on the cusp (of a blowout) all the time and that made it obviously very difficult all the way until the end. That was a discussion at every time out and also like if the game gets out of reach, but with our guys it was kind of a tug-of-war and when we got it close, I think it was down to 11 points at some point maybe four minutes or something like this so it was a very tough decision. Unfortunately, (leaving the starters in) did n0t pay off.”

A win at home would have gotten the Grizzlies into a tie for fourth with the Nuggets. Memphis is now below the NBA Playoffs line and will be in survival mode the rest of the season. Going from being all but assured of a top-six seed to not even being the odds-on favorite to host an NBA Play-In Tournament opener is quite the shock to the locker room's system. Giving up a 52-point quarter to Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves will do that to a team though.