Lottery Picture: Raptors & Grizzlies Remain Neck & Neck in Race to the Bottom

The Toronto Raptors remain in a race with the Memphis Grizzlies for the sixth-worst record in the NBA

The Memphis Grizzlies aren’t going to make it easy.

For all the losing the Toronto Raptors have endured lately, the organization still only has a one-game lead on Memphis for the sixth-worst record in the NBA. Somehow Toronto’s 13-game losing streak has almost been matched by 2-9 stretch from the Grizzlies dating back to the middle of March.

Memphis hasn’t exactly gone all-out too. Desmond Bane has been in and out of the lineup with a back injury and it looks like the Grizzlies aren’t going to be too displeased if they lose a few more games over the final two weeks of their season.

For Toronto, the return of Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett could complicate that race to the bottom. The Raptors don’t have an easy remaining schedule, but a pair of games against the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets could see Toronto and Memphis swap positions down the stretch. It wouldn’t be too surprising if a Raptors team with Quickley, Barrett, and Gary Trent Jr. won at least one or two more games over their final eight outings.

That means the Raptors will need Memphis to win at least another game to keep their distance in front of the Grizzlies. Memphis does have an easier schedule with two games against Detroit and one against San Antonio still to come. The Grizzlies also finish the year at home against the Denver Nuggets in a game Denver is unlikely to care much about.

If Toronto can stay ahead of Memphis in the reverse standings, the Raptors will have a 46% chance to keep their top-six protected first-round pick this year. However, if the Grizzlies jump Toronto, those odds fall to just 32%.

Considering how bleak it's been for Toronto lately, it would be a tough to see all that losing not bear fruit when the NBA draft lottery rolls around on Mother's Day.