The Memphis Grizzlies take on the San Antonio Spurs tonight, Friday, March 22, in a game likely more interesting for Toronto Raptors fans than their own matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It’s not just because Rookie of the Year favorite Victor Wembanyama is playing. The game has incredible stakes for both the Raptors and Spurs, and that’s why Raptors fans should root as hard as they can for the Memphis Grizzlies to win tonight and every night for the rest of the season.
At last season’s trade deadline, the Toronto Raptors traded for center Jakob Poeltl, sending the San Antonio Spurs an equivalent salary and three draft picks. We recently we crashed the deal during our trade reclassificationand the assessment could be even worse.
The first-round pick the Raptors owe the Spurs is protected 1-6, meaning if the Raptors leave the NBA Draft Lottery with one of the top six spots, they retain the pick and their obligation to the Spurs shifts to following. year.
The Raptors started this season thinking they would give up a first-round pick to the Spurs, but they struggled early on. Small injuries have turned into major injuries, the team’s top veterans have been moved ahead of the trade deadline this season, and Toronto’s season is spiraling out of control.
Currently, rising star Scottie Barnes is sidelined with a broken hand, RJ Barrett is away from the team following the death of his brother, and Poeltl himself is unavailable after a finger operation. As of this writing, the Raptors have lost eight straight games and 10 of their last 11. This losing streak is certainly dark, but it has a positive side.
The Raptors were once on the fringes of the Play-In tournament, but their losing streak instead positioned them to catch the Memphis Grizzlies for the sixth-worst record in the league. As of Friday morning, the Raptors are 23-46, just a half-game behind the Grizzlies at 23-47.
If Toronto finishes with the seventh-best odds of retaining its pick, as they are currently positioned to do, they would have a 31.9 percent chance of retaining their protected pick in the Top 6, made up entirely of their chances of moving up into the Top 4. If they can “catch” the Grizzlies by losing more than they did down the stretch, then the Raptors’ chances of keeping their pick jump to 45.8 percent, almost a coin toss. spell.
The fact that the Grizzlies have an easier schedule for the rest of the game works in Toronto’s favor. They have two games each remaining against the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs, two of the three worst teams in the league. It begins tonight, in a match with fascinating motivations on all sides.
The Spurs are usually incentivized to lose basketball games to improve their own lottery standings, but in tonight’s game, a loss would make it less likely that they get the Raptors’ pick this season. Would they rather push to win – that can happen anyway with Victor Wembanyama in suit – and improve the chances of the Raptors sending the seventh or eighth pick this year? Or would they like to lose, thereby improving their odds and increasing the chances that the pick moves to a more valued draft like 2025 or 2026?
The Raptors host the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight and are 15.5 point underdogs. Their path to defeat should be safe. What happens in San Antonio, however, could matter as much as whether or not they keep their first-round pick or send him to the Spurs.
Tonight and every night, Toronto fans should be cheering on the Memphis Grizzlies. A win for Memphis is a win for them. Kind of.
Following. 3 “best fit” players for each Raptors draft pick. 3 “best fit” players for each Raptors draft pick. dark
