“The Warriors lost three of the four regular-season matchups against the Grizzlies, but Klay Thompson had yet to return from a 31-month injury absence when the two teams met on Oct. 29 (Grizzlies' overtime win) and Dec. 23 (Warriors' win), Draymond Green was out for the Jan. 11 game (Grizzlies' win) and Steph Curry missed the final meeting on March 28 (Grizzlies' win).”
I enjoyed this video and I wanted to share it with you, with some comments:
- Where is that journalist hiding, that said that JP3 should have gone undrafted? Don't they know that in saying so they carve inevitably on stone an AS/HOF career?
- Do you remember how well JP3 was playing before going to the G-League bubble?
- I didn't remember how pissed off he was when the journalists kept on pointing the screams "Cancel the flight!" by the Dubs bench, did you?
- Such a pity, the video missed a lot of his beautiful dimes.
- Keep on dancing and singing, Jordan. After all, it's a Poole Party :)
In this series I think key is for GP2, Otto and Wiggins to be able to knock down their open shots. Biggest question to me is who do we put Curry on when they run Ja, Bane, Brooks, Clarke, JJJ? Really hoping it's not Bane but Brooks is also too big for him where he can just post up.
Memphis was the #1 offensive rebounding team in the league and the #3 team in the league at forcing turnovers, both areas of concern. Warrior opponents were second lowest in foul rate as they are not a team who pressures the rim, so the advantage that Minnesota had by keeping JJJ off the floor might not be there for the Warriors.
If I am Memphis I am putting Morant on Wiggins. Is Wiggins a good enough screener to force that switch for Poole or Curry? Is Wiggins capable of driving to the rim with Morant on him like Beverley did or is he going to do what he often does and settle for long twos because he's not confident in his handle or his free throwing? Is Wiggins ready to take on the challenge inside like in Games 1 and 2 against Denver and not curl up in a ball like the rest of the series? Was Klay's phenomenal Game 5 performance on the boards something he is capable of doing now with his new frame and can he be the guy to keep someone like Clarke at bay?
If Wiggins is not ready, is Kuminga capable of guarding Morant? Not keeping him in front but playing him well within the team concept? Because I could see Kuminga taking advantage of Morant defensively with post ups and perhaps more importantly with crashing the glass like OKC did in 2016 with Roberson when Curry was on him. Or is Kuminga capable of guarding Jones? That would be another way to get him on the ball, not exactly sure he is playable otherwise.
Two interesting factoids about Steven Adams' importance to the Grizzlies:
Can the Warriors force Adams off the floor early in the series? I'm not worried about him in a do or die game but he is perhaps the strongest human in the NBA and the early series minutes could help in an overarching strategy to wear the Warriors down. It seemed to me like the Warriors were wearing down in that Denver series, perhaps from Draymond taking on the Jokic matchup so much (and he kinda mentioned it in his podcasts indirectly). Perhaps Adams has a bad case of COVID though, in which case he might not be a factor.
Will Kerr be willing to bench Poole for GP2 if needed? This is the box score of the one game the Warriors won against Memphis:
Poole in COVID protocols, GP2 got 30+ minutes. I think that if GP2 can get 30+ minutes a game in this series (along with Curry and Green) and is useful offensively and dominant defensively, the Warriors will win the series. But will they be able to play GP2 30 minutes? Can a Curry/Poole/GP2 lineup work? Is Poole disciplined enough defensively for the pressure the Grizzlies are about to put on him? Is he going to get flustered?
Is Curry in a physical place where he can deal with all of the hits he'll get from Brooks and still deliver? How is that foot?
Is Klay going to be affected by playing every other day and the travel later in the series? Are his legs back completely?
Will Memphis hack GP2/Wiggins?
Will Iguodala be available for this series at all?
Can OPJ remember that he's a fucking 40% career three point shooter and act like it?
I see the Grizzlies as a (worse) version of 2016 OKC, they have the size/athleticism/etc. but they lack the KD (although they do have more depth than that OKC team). Imo one of the hardest things about that matchup was Ibaka's defense on Draymond. Can JJJ do the same thing? To this day I think that OKC team outplayed the Warriors overall. But Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are maniacal competitors and they brought the Warriors back from the dead in that series with elite shotmaking. I simply cannot pick against those guys, I'll have to see them fail in a playoff series where they are all healthy to believe it first. There is a bit of faith to this prediction, but:
Of the two games we lost against Grizz in regular season, I remember one coming down to wire and us not executing in last minute or so. Anyone remember what went wrong in the other loss?
Be honest. At what point did you know with absolute certainty that the Wolves were going to find a way to seize defeat. KATs super early,super bad three point fling was my "welp" for this one. Probably came a bit later than it should have given their near perfect choke execution this series.
Last thing, clarkes perimeter defense is a little overrated to me. I dont think hes sticking with curry, klay or poole on the perimeter, he might be alot less effective against us and we might be able to play him off the floor
I heard on RealGM podcast that during regular season, Grizz had poorer half court offensive rating (< ~95). They kill teams in transition and points off OREBs.
If true, everybody has got to get back fast after possession irrespective of the result and fight for defensive rebounds like crazy.
Putting up a fresh new open thread https://dubnationhq.com/p/warriors-v-grizzlies-complete-schedule
I don’t remember Looney’s joking😆
https://twitter.com/nbcswarriors/status/1520122586050486273?s=21&t=jCML72-5qSElfUyDCiLbAg
“The Warriors lost three of the four regular-season matchups against the Grizzlies, but Klay Thompson had yet to return from a 31-month injury absence when the two teams met on Oct. 29 (Grizzlies' overtime win) and Dec. 23 (Warriors' win), Draymond Green was out for the Jan. 11 game (Grizzlies' win) and Steph Curry missed the final meeting on March 28 (Grizzlies' win).”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/warriors-grizzlies-meet-2022-nba-playoffs-second-round%3Famp
Slight schedule change: I'm too fat so need to run out and buy a suit. Therefore the series preview will run late afternoon today.
https://youtu.be/R60cizybYRI
I enjoyed this video and I wanted to share it with you, with some comments:
- Where is that journalist hiding, that said that JP3 should have gone undrafted? Don't they know that in saying so they carve inevitably on stone an AS/HOF career?
- Do you remember how well JP3 was playing before going to the G-League bubble?
- I didn't remember how pissed off he was when the journalists kept on pointing the screams "Cancel the flight!" by the Dubs bench, did you?
- Such a pity, the video missed a lot of his beautiful dimes.
- Keep on dancing and singing, Jordan. After all, it's a Poole Party :)
In this series I think key is for GP2, Otto and Wiggins to be able to knock down their open shots. Biggest question to me is who do we put Curry on when they run Ja, Bane, Brooks, Clarke, JJJ? Really hoping it's not Bane but Brooks is also too big for him where he can just post up.
https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1520250160256749569
I don't know y'all, IMO this is a different level of disrespect. They want to play the villains but the bad guys always loses at the end....
Memphis was the #1 offensive rebounding team in the league and the #3 team in the league at forcing turnovers, both areas of concern. Warrior opponents were second lowest in foul rate as they are not a team who pressures the rim, so the advantage that Minnesota had by keeping JJJ off the floor might not be there for the Warriors.
If I am Memphis I am putting Morant on Wiggins. Is Wiggins a good enough screener to force that switch for Poole or Curry? Is Wiggins capable of driving to the rim with Morant on him like Beverley did or is he going to do what he often does and settle for long twos because he's not confident in his handle or his free throwing? Is Wiggins ready to take on the challenge inside like in Games 1 and 2 against Denver and not curl up in a ball like the rest of the series? Was Klay's phenomenal Game 5 performance on the boards something he is capable of doing now with his new frame and can he be the guy to keep someone like Clarke at bay?
If Wiggins is not ready, is Kuminga capable of guarding Morant? Not keeping him in front but playing him well within the team concept? Because I could see Kuminga taking advantage of Morant defensively with post ups and perhaps more importantly with crashing the glass like OKC did in 2016 with Roberson when Curry was on him. Or is Kuminga capable of guarding Jones? That would be another way to get him on the ball, not exactly sure he is playable otherwise.
Two interesting factoids about Steven Adams' importance to the Grizzlies:
https://twitter.com/SethPartnow/status/1519143824529973248
https://twitter.com/john__colburn/status/1519112532677603330
Can the Warriors force Adams off the floor early in the series? I'm not worried about him in a do or die game but he is perhaps the strongest human in the NBA and the early series minutes could help in an overarching strategy to wear the Warriors down. It seemed to me like the Warriors were wearing down in that Denver series, perhaps from Draymond taking on the Jokic matchup so much (and he kinda mentioned it in his podcasts indirectly). Perhaps Adams has a bad case of COVID though, in which case he might not be a factor.
Will Kerr be willing to bench Poole for GP2 if needed? This is the box score of the one game the Warriors won against Memphis:
https://www.espn.com/nba/game/_/gameId/401360309
Poole in COVID protocols, GP2 got 30+ minutes. I think that if GP2 can get 30+ minutes a game in this series (along with Curry and Green) and is useful offensively and dominant defensively, the Warriors will win the series. But will they be able to play GP2 30 minutes? Can a Curry/Poole/GP2 lineup work? Is Poole disciplined enough defensively for the pressure the Grizzlies are about to put on him? Is he going to get flustered?
Is Curry in a physical place where he can deal with all of the hits he'll get from Brooks and still deliver? How is that foot?
Is Klay going to be affected by playing every other day and the travel later in the series? Are his legs back completely?
Will Memphis hack GP2/Wiggins?
Will Iguodala be available for this series at all?
Can OPJ remember that he's a fucking 40% career three point shooter and act like it?
I see the Grizzlies as a (worse) version of 2016 OKC, they have the size/athleticism/etc. but they lack the KD (although they do have more depth than that OKC team). Imo one of the hardest things about that matchup was Ibaka's defense on Draymond. Can JJJ do the same thing? To this day I think that OKC team outplayed the Warriors overall. But Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are maniacal competitors and they brought the Warriors back from the dead in that series with elite shotmaking. I simply cannot pick against those guys, I'll have to see them fail in a playoff series where they are all healthy to believe it first. There is a bit of faith to this prediction, but:
Warriors in 6.
GP2's defense on Ja Morant on the January game @ Memphis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_bPlaj2aio
Ja Morant when defended by Andrew Wiggins during the regular season in 9:31 matchup minutes:
11pts, 5asts (1tov), 1stl, 5/17 FG (29.4%), 0/4 3PT
https://twitter.com/GSWReddit/status/1520264760259870720
Ja Morant when defended by Gary Payton II during the regular season in 16:04 matchup minutes:
7pts, 4asts (5tov), 1blkd, 2 stls, 2/12 FG (16.7%), 0/3 3PT
https://twitter.com/GSWReddit/status/1520263556280717314
E2184 suggested Minnesota run a zone in the just-completed game.
Does a box and one against Bane make sense? Ja's not going to hurt you from deep. Brooks can, but he's more hit and miss.
I don't know how good zones are when run against a good penetrator (like Ja).
Of the two games we lost against Grizz in regular season, I remember one coming down to wire and us not executing in last minute or so. Anyone remember what went wrong in the other loss?
Be honest. At what point did you know with absolute certainty that the Wolves were going to find a way to seize defeat. KATs super early,super bad three point fling was my "welp" for this one. Probably came a bit later than it should have given their near perfect choke execution this series.
https://twitter.com/warriors/status/1520256296007520257
3 days between Game 2 and 3. Sheesh. That's another nice mini break during the playoffs
Last thing, clarkes perimeter defense is a little overrated to me. I dont think hes sticking with curry, klay or poole on the perimeter, he might be alot less effective against us and we might be able to play him off the floor
I heard on RealGM podcast that during regular season, Grizz had poorer half court offensive rating (< ~95). They kill teams in transition and points off OREBs.
If true, everybody has got to get back fast after possession irrespective of the result and fight for defensive rebounds like crazy.
And TOVs!!