Identifying Memphis Grizzlies' Goal For the Rest of the Season

The Memphis Grizzlies are coming off of a very strange week where some results didn't necessarily match what should have happened on paper.

The Grizzlies lost by 25 points to the struggling Chicago Bulls, but were able to beat Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, as well as field a competitive game against the Boston Celtics, who are still fighting to be the Eastern Conference's top seed.

After the dust settled, here is what power rankings across the internet thought of the Grizzlies this past week.

NBA.com, John Schuhmann (27, up 1)

"The Grizzlies ended an eight-game losing streak and played spoiler for the first time since the All-Star break, stunning the Nuggets on Wednesday with a seven-point win. They’re seventh in the upside-down standings, with one more win than the Mavs and one fewer than the Pelicans," Schuhmann wrote.

The Athletic, Law Murray (24, up 1)

"The Grizzlies are the one team that is using the hardship exception to sign players and get through the season. Right now, Burton and Jarreau are on the roster as overflow options. Injuries have decimated a Grizzlies team that already had middling expectations to begin the year, when Zach Edey, Ty Jerome, Brandon Clarke, Scotty Pippen Jr., and Vince Williams Jr. were all on the shelf," Murray wrote.

"Only Jerome is playing right now, with Ja Morant, Santi Aldama and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope either all out for the season or they might as well be. The biggest player piece that Memphis got for trading Jackson is Hendricks, 40-year-old Gibson replaced Week 1 starter Landale, Rupert got a two-way contract after Olivier-Maxence Prosper (starting at center these days at 6-foot-7) got promoted and Clayton is playing next to two other guards regularly. That’s how you build a tank — and they still beat the Nuggets!"

USA Today, Clemente Almanza (24, down 1)

"Talk about being a late bloomer in the tank race. The Grizzlies have lost 10 of their last 11 games. Ty Jerome had 21 points in an upset win over the Nuggets. Aside from that, though, Memphis has done an excellent job at tanking. All of their best players are out. It's a bunch of fake NBA players who are absorbing a ton of minutes. It's gone under the radar because of their market size, but it's the right move to make. They badly need some fresh blood," Almanza wrote.

Overview

After being on the fringe of the Western Conference Play-In tournament picture, the Grizzlies have successfully retreated and given themselves very little opportunity to get back into a possible postseason qualification.

The Grizzlies are even behind the New Orleans Pelicans now and have potential to fall even further in the standings after winning just one of their last nine games (10 games). That win came against the Nuggets who really needed that victory to try and help improve their placement in the Western Conference standings.

Playing spoiler should be the goal for the Grizzlies in their final 12 games of the season. Most of their opponents are teams that are fighting for playoff positioning, so the team should figure out exactly how they can throw a wrench into many teams' plans.