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Welcome back to your Grizzlies Insider, where we deliver the latest NBA news and analysis straight from Daily Memphian staffers Drew Hill, Chris Herrington and Geoff Calkins right into your inbox.
The Grizzlies have not lost since Dillon Brooks ate a gold steak.
The Grizzlies have not lost to any team but the league-best Utah Jazz since March 19.
And the Grizzlies have not lost sight of their ultimate goal: Making the playoffs.
 Memphis Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas (middle) puts up a shot against the Minnesota Timberwolves defense on April 2. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
“Every team wants to make the playoffs and go as hard as they can in the standings,” said center Jonas Valanciunas after the win Wednesday night. “That’s our goal, too. We definitely want to be in the playoffs and a successful team. But we are a young team still trying to get our basketball to as high of a level as we can.”
That answer is more direct than usual.
If asked about the playoffs, or about a four-game winning streak, or growing 3-point shooting trends, or the undeniably positive trajectory of the team, they usually give much more modest answers.
They prefer to give answers like what coach Taylor Jenkins said Wednesday when asked if this was the best he’s felt this season about the direction of his group.
“I don’t try to think about it and do a lot comparisons,” Jenkins said. “I’m just focused on what we are doing from game to game and if we are embracing what we need to do every single night.”
Which is a fine response, but it won’t change the fact that the Grizzlies are now two games ahead of the Spurs for eighth in the West and heading into the most difficult stretch of their schedule on a roll.
Are the Grizzlies headed for the play-in? It sure looks like it.
Could they finish in eighth? The computers at teamrankings.com say they have a 70% chance of doing so.
So, yes, Memphis is in great shape right now. But they don’t want to get ahead of themselves.
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More from your Insider:
Grayson Allen scored 30 points and Jonas Valanciunas recorded another double-double as Memphis won its fourth straight.
Morant had left Tuesday’s game against the Heat because of his back.
The task is to find the appropriate use of three scoring guards.
Dillon Brooks gets his revenge in a huge performance over Andre Iguodala and the Miami Heat.
The Grizzlies and Pepsi paired to open a new career lab for students at Booker T. Washington High School.
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