The 901: With one game left in season, it's 'do-or-die' time for Memphis Grizzlies

Good Wednesday morning from Memphis! If you're wondering where all the Birds have gone, we have answers — and it's not "south." But first...

The Memphis Grizzlies' hopes of making a play-in tournament to decide who makes the playoffs hinges on the last game of an unexpectedly nail-biting irregular regular season. 

After losing 122-107 to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday — the team's sixth loss out of seven games so far in the NBA "bubble" — the Grizzlies are facing their moment of truth, our Evan Barnes reports. Evan lays out four scenarios for what could happen next:

1. Best scenario: Memphis wins its final game tomorrow against the Milwaukee Bucks, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Portland Trail Blazers lose to the Brooklyn Nets. The Grizzlies reclaim the No. 8 seed.

2. Next-best scenario: Memphis beats the Bucks but the Trail Blazers also beat the Nets. This would give the Grizzlies the No. 9 seed.

3. The hey-we'll-take-it scenario: The Grizzlies lose to the Bucks, but the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns also lose their games Thursday. That still gives the Grizzlies the No. 9 seed.

4. Worst scenario: Memphis loses to the Bucks while either the Spurs or the Suns win. Season over.

If the Grizzlies make the play-in tournament, what happen next is, well, complicated. But basically, the No. 9 seed would need to beat the No. 8 seed twice to move ahead.

Pre-playoffs jitters are natural, especially for a team as young as the Grizzlies. Here's Grayson Allen, reflecting how the team — and its city — are feeling ahead of tomorrow:

"You know you're in the now-or-never, do-or-die mindset," Grayson Allen said. "There's not much that you can say about it. Everyone understands it, everyone will feel it."

The Grizzlies face off against the Bucks at 3 p.m. tomorrow. Watch on Fox Sports.

Memphis grounds Birds for a week

For perhaps the first time since their arrival in 2018, Memphis is Bird-less.

After receiving reports of "reckless and irresponsible" riding and improper parking of electric scooters, the city imposed a 10 p.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays curfew on e-scooter operators. But when the curfew went into effect this past weekend, Bird continued operating its e-scooters into the curfew hours, earning the company a one-week city suspension followed by a probation period, our Micaela Watts reports.

Here's the city's statement with more specifics about what that means for Bird:

Multiple reports and observations from the weekend verify that Bird failed to fully comply with the curfew. As a result, the City and Bird have agreed to a temporary suspension of Bird operations for the period of at least one week. Bird will remove its e-scooters from streets and other publicly accessible areas by noon on August 11. Following the one-week period, the City will permit Bird to resume operations with a maximum fleet of 50 e-scooters. Only after demonstrating through data and on-the-ground observations that the curfew restrictions are met for three consecutive days will the City allow Bird to revert to its full permitted fleet size. 

Meanwhile, Bird seems like it's in a complying mood now:

Sam Reed, a Bird spokesperson, issued the following statement in response to the city's order:

"“In close partnership with the City of Memphis, Bird is temporarily pausing our service for one week. We are committed to continuing our close partnership with the City as we work to address reports of an increase in underage riding and irresponsible rider behavior. We apologize to riders for the disruption in the service they have come to rely on and will use this time to more deeply engage with residents and local business. Bird will resume service after satisfactorily sharing our plan and strategy for addressing the City’s concerns with added technology and education.”

Since their advent, electric scooters have caused headaches in Downtown Memphis — sometimes literally. The scooters are a fun, relatively inexpensive way of getting around Downtown, but they come with a price for the pedestrians and shop owners who have to put up with them. The reckless use of scooters is a problem and has been a problem.

The city's suspension and probation of Bird isn't just warranted: It sends a message to the other companies that what has been given — the access to Memphis sidewalks — can also be taken away. And that's a message electric scooter operators need to heed.

County expands asymptomatic testing

The Shelby County Health Department yesterday announced that it would offer students and teachers asymptomatic testing as schools reopen, our Laura Testino reports.

The pilot program, which is only being offered to schools in Memphis for now uses the potentially faster "pool testing" method, which tests several samples at the same time and then re-tests any batches that turn up positive for COVID-19. That's a great method to process tests — unless, that is, the positivity rate is so high every batch has one. If that happens, the Health Department says it will move away from the pool testing model.

Laura also highlights another pilot program, "Test to Protect," which is aimed more specifically at teachers. Memphis and Shelby County have partnered to offer tests to two Shelby County Schools teachers unions, Memphis-Shelby County Education Association and the United Education Association of Shelby County, she reports.

Getting teachers and students access to testing is, of course, a big deal right now, with many public and private schools either reopening — or preparing to reopen — their classrooms. And if you're wondering why testing students and teachers is such a big deal right now, yesterday's The 901 explained what could be in store for the county:

Yesterday, Mississippi reported that 22 schools have reported COVID-19 infections, per WJTV. In the Atlanta area, 80 students and school employees have tested positive for the virus, according to The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Israel had the spread of COVID-19 under control — until it reopened schools, CNN reports. At least 97,000 children in the U.S. tested positive for COVID-19 just in the last two weeks of July, according to The New York Times. Outbreaks are closing schools across the U.S.

Quotable: Cohen on Biden VP pick

After Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden announced former rival Kamala Harris as his pick for vice president yesterday, Congressman Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, put out a statement of support — and outed her as never having been to Memphis:

“I am thrilled to see that Joe Biden chose Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. She is smart, savvy, and seasoned. Sen. Harris and I traveled together to Atlanta for John Lewis’ home going. The senator has never been to Memphis but wants to visit and we’ll roll out the blue carpet for her.”

Obviously, any presidential or vice presidential hopeful should visit Memphis at least once, if only to visit the National Civil Rights Museum and to find out what real barbecue tastes like.

What else is happening in the 901

• A Black man has filed a federal lawsuit against the Memphis Police Department alleging officers stripped and raped him, our Sam Hardiman reports.
• Our Desiree Stennett has all the juicy details about a new lawsuit over the planned Loews convention center hotel in Downtown Memphis.
• If you're wondering how rough it's getting for some Memphis businesses due to the pandemic, the Orpheum has created a 9-hole putt-putt golf course on its stage, our John Beifuss reports. So, yeah — really rough. John also has five lesser-known "Elvis places" to visit in commemoration of Elvis week.
• Shelby County is offering 500 grants of $2,000 each to close-contact businesses like nail and beauty salons to help them weather the pandemic, our Micaela Watts reports.
• People have until 4:30 p.m. Friday to apply for federal funds meant to replace the free or reduced lunches some kids have at school, Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen said during a press conference yesterday. Our Sam Hardiman has more details, including the link and information to apply for the benefits.
• The Daily Memphian digs into the details of how the financing is changing for The Walk on Union, the mixed-use development formerly known as Union Row.

The Fadeout: Grace Askew's latest

Memphis singer, songwriter and musician Grace Askew just released a new single, "Suffer Well," which fades us out here...

Like The Fadeout? Check out The 901's Spotify playlist. Want to submit a recommendation of your own? Reach me by email, address below.

Columnist Ryan Poe writes The 901, a running commentary on all things Memphis. Reach him at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @ryanpoe.

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