The Golden State Warriors have three days to track down the memory erasing device from the Men In Black film franchise, get in a room together and have Will Smith wipe their minds of the horrific display they put up against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night.
It was the worst game the Warriors have played all season, coming during a rather inopportune time: the playoffs.
There are only four teams left in the highly competitive Western Conference and they all have championship aspirations. The Warriors can’t come back from every deficit. They can’t win every single game, especially when their opponent brings more intensity, focus and hustle to the court, which Memphis had in spades last night.
May 5, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts after missing a basket while being fouled during the fourth quarter in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies at Oracle Arena. The Grizzlies defeated the Warriors 97-90. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
First and foremost, the Grizzlies were able to dictate tempo. The 90 points the Warriors scored were their fewest of the season at Oracle Arena. Golden State rarely found themselves in a fast break situation, and the few times they were in transition, they failed to capitalize.
So often you see the Warriors make “the right play.” Last night, they were rarely able to do so. All credit to Memphis’ defense. First-Team All Defense Tony Allen abused Klay Thompson, and the Grizzlies sent multiple bodies at Stephen Curry and he struggled to make the right pass. And when he did, plenty of open shots were missed. Basketball is so often about flow and the Warriors were completely taken out of their rhythm by the Grizzlies.
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A combination of great D by the Grizzlies and just sloppy play from the Warriors led to 20 Golden State turnovers. Thompson had five of them alone. Forced passes, bad communications and just carelessness led to 22 points for the Grizzlies off those 20 Golden State turnovers. So often it is the Warriors who are turning teams over and getting easy baskets. I can’t remember more than three baskets last night that came easy. It was a grind before the Warriors even arrive at the “Grind House.”
We can’t get this far without mentioning Mike Conley, who played like a superhero (mask included) on both sides of the floor and completely changed the game. The Warriors need to go back to the drawing board on how to contain him and keep their offense flowing through his disruptive tendencies.
Ok, so the Warriors played terrible. On to the next one.
The last time the Warriors faced Memphis in the regular season, they dominated the Grizzlies for three quarters and let the bench mob hold on to a 111-107 win. In that game, Klay Thompson played quite a bit better (42 points) and the Dubs were able to shut down Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Controlling Gasol and Randolph is tough, but the Warriors can start by avoiding cheap fouls. Draymond Green picked up two fouls (and a technical for getting too turnt) early in the first quarter on Tuesday, taking the Warriors out of their normal rotations and letting the Grizzlies’ bigs get in an early flow they stayed in the entire night.
Curry and Thompson clearly have to be more efficient scoring the ball. This comes back to ball movement, which Steve Kerr was harping on during every mic’d up timeout last night. This isn’t an offense that relies on 1-on-1 shots. The Splash Brothers need ball movement leading to open shots to be more effective and the Warriors will look to be more crisp with their passing, avoid turnovers and find the open man on Saturday in Memphis.
So now in a way, the playoffs officially start for the Dubs. For the first time this post-season, they face adversity. The question is: how will they respond?