With a record of 44-29 and just nine regular-season games remaining, the Memphis Grizzlies appear locked into their fourth playoff appearance in the last five seasons.
However, that is apparently not good enough for Memphis’s decision-makers, as head coach Taylor Jenkins was fired early Friday afternoon.
Jenkins was in his sixth campaign with the team and helped get the Grizzlies into the playoffs in his second, third and fourth seasons as head coach. He has a career record of 250-214 with Memphis, making his random firing quite a head-scratcher.
The timing of the situation is also bizarre. The Grizzlies have lost four of their last five games, but they are still the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and would have to lose every game for the remainder of the season to fall out of a playoff spot entirely.
If the current standings hold, Memphis will face Lebron, Luka and the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
An interim coach having just nine games to get his feet wet before game planning for a series against two of the game’s Top 10 players could end up causing the Grizzlies to be an early exit in the first round of the playoffs.
