(2)Memphis Grizzlies vs. (3)Golden State Warriors Game 1: Sunday, May 1 Warriors at Grizzlies 2:30pm ABC Game 2: Tuesday, May 3 Warriors at Grizzlies 8:30pm TNT Game 3: Saturday, May 7 Grizzlies at Warriors 7:30pm ABC Game 4: Monday, May 9 Grizzlies at Warriors 9:00pm TNT Game 5* Wednesday, May 11 Warriors at Grizzlies TNT Game 6* Friday, May 13 Grizzlies at Warriors ESPN Game 7* Monday, May 16 Warriors at Grizzlies TNT *All times Central
because they have the top pick andrew wiggins and grizzlies have none of the top 1 picks? makes sense...
Why are people immediately thinking the Warriors will sweep? The Grizzlies have actual perimeter defenders against the Warriors, unlike the Nuggets. I think JJJ and Adams will be key - gotta gobble up the boards when GSW plays their death lineup.
https://theathletic.com/3282167/202...k-heat-76ers-celtics-bucks-suns-mavs-winners/ No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 3 Golden State Warriors Scout’s outlook: “I’m picking Golden State. Is Memphis going to win two games? I don’t think so. The Warriors have got their mojo working. They’ve looked very good. I just think Memphis’ lack of experience is fine against Minnesota; you can come back from two 25-point deficits in one game against a team in your age group. But you’re not going to have the same response against Golden State. The Warriors are too experienced, and they’re playing very well. “I don’t think anybody can guard Ja. Thompson can guard Desmond Bane, though, so that’s a good matchup for Golden State. Brandon Clarke … he was very impactful against Minnesota. “Between Curry, Thompson and Jordan Poole, the Warriors have three guys who can get their own shot. Thompson’s not just a spot-up shooter. And, of course, they’ve got Draymond Green, Mr. Do It All. I hope it’s a close series, but I don’t see that happening. “Jaren Jackson Jr.’s like a disappearing act. … But he’s got to impact the game more. For the Grizzlies to have a chance, he’s got to be more impactful. He was really not much of a factor often against Minnesota. I mean, it’s a guard’s game, basically, and Golden State’s got two great guards and an emerging one in Poole. The other team’s got one. Take Memphis’ trio of Desmond Bane, Morant and Dillon Brooks versus Thompson, Curry and Poole. Golden State has a decided advantage, and those are the guys who I think will decide the series. Then you add Green. “So it’ll be fun to watch. That’s a fun series because it’ll have a high skill level.” Coach’s outlook: “Memphis beat them 3-1 in the regular season, but I know Golden State wasn’t fully healthy. I’m still giving that to Golden State. I’ve got Golden State making a clean run at this thing. “Golden State has too many veterans (for Memphis) that know how to play the game. If you look at why the Minnesota-Memphis series went the way it did, it’s because it was a youthful series. It was fun. It was great to watch. And it was entertaining. But you see the high level of mistakes that were made because of youth. “The way the Warriors defend is actually special, and then they make you defend them. I mean, the series I would love to see at the end would be Miami-Golden State. That would be the series that I would most likely love to watch. You would have two different teams in how they present themselves, but they play very similar styles of basketball with pace and ball movement and cutting and defensive prowess with switching, with mucking it up defensively in different areas and different guys being in different spots. You have that on both teams — they just present it differently. Miami’s is more grit and physical. Golden State is more activity, communication — and they fly around, and it doesn’t look as physical. But it’s the same presentation, in some ways.” Executive’s outlook: “I think Golden State’s rolling at the right time. Memphis’ experience in the first round is a good precursor to future success. But the experience that Golden State provides and the fact that they’ve started to play at a higher level — the trend looks like it’s going to be Golden State being able to advance.” Scout’s pick: Warriors in five Coach’s pick: Warriors in seven Executive’s pick: Warriors in six Consensus advancing team: Warriors
They did it last year, though. With the same team minus Klay. The main reason the warriors used to beat teams is that they overwhelmed teams with offense. And pace. The grizzlies have consistently beaten the Warriors, plus the Warriors are old. Don't be surprised if Memphis wins this series easily. Also, the wolves were much more difficult to beat than everyone acts like. That team is talented and very difficult to beat.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...-east-crown-suns-return-to-conference-finals/ Reiter's pick: Warriors in 5 Quinn's pick: Warriors in 5 Ward-Henninger's pick: Warriors in 6 Maloney's pick: Warriors in 5 Wimbish's pick: Warriors in 6 Botkin's pick: Warriors in 6 Herbert's pick: Warriors in 6 Kaskey-Blomain's pick: Warriors in 6
Memphis will be a tough matchup for the Warriors, due to their athleticism, rebounding, defense and Ja. With versatile switchable defenders like Brooks, Bane, Clarke, JJJ, and others they are well equiped to defend the Warriors motion offense. With Clarke, Adams, JJJ, they are capable of destroying the Warriors weakness on the glass... Especially if they are playing small. Lastly unless GP2 is getting significant playing time, the Warriors have no one to adequately defend Ja Morant. I pick the Warriors in 6 or 7 but wouldn't be surprise if it's Grizz in 7. The key will be Poole/Thompson for the Warriors and Bane/JJJ, assuming Curry and Ja both play great.
The Grizzlies with the upset, they're being woefully undersold in the media. The T-Wolves were a tough first round matchup. Caught Memphis by surprise. Which I thought they would do against any other top seed. Memphis has great defense everywhere, home-court advantage, and arguably the most talented player on the court. Grizzlies in 6/7.
I was not sold on Ja Morant this series. 32/23/16/11/30/17 He scored under 20 in the road games ........ just pretty rough overall away from home. I get that they got surprised but the overall lack in playoff experience is more than showing. Also I think Bane is severly underrated as a Number 2 who carries the scoring load just like Morant does. Bane plays so much better on the road so far. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/banede01/gamelog/2022
Ehh. It was one game, GSW didn't have Klay, and Poole wasn't as good then as he is now. Also, it was a game decided in OT, so Memphis didn't win very convincingly. I'm not saying Memphis can't beat GSW, but I don't think you can look at one game and draw conclusions from it...especially when so many factors and variables are different, a whole year later. That said, I think Memphis has a great shot at beating GSW. Their guards are way better than the Nuggets' guards, and while Adams/JJJ aren't Jokic, they can still grab rebounds at a way better pace than GSW's bigs.
For people that watched the Minny-Memphis series intently, why was Adams so quickly taken out of the rotation? Was it that he just couldn't guard Towns?
I think he was hurting, for one. Memphis really gives the Warriors fits for a couple of years running. I know the Warriors didn't want to face them, just based on all the hand-wringing in Bay Area sports media for the last month or so. The BSPN people talk about Klay shutting anyone down, but he's barely a plus defender anymore. He just doesn't stay in front of people as well. I'm picking Warriors in 7 b/c NBA reasons / refs / (and I hate to admit it) experience. The Warriors are one little injury away from falling apart: Draymond's back flares up or Curry's ankle.
