Warriors rip Grizzlies' heart out late as "two-timelines" plan develops hilariously
Warriors rip Grizzlies' heart out late as "two-timelines" plan develops hilariously
WE'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT MEMPHIS!
The Golden State Warriors stunned the Memphis Grizzlies 122-120 in Chase Center last night, erasing a 10-point Grizz lead to come away with the victory.
If I had told you before the game that #2 seeded Grizz would come in to San Francisco and…
Decisively win the turnover battle (14 to GSW’s 22)
Make more free throws (26-of-37 to to GSW’s 22-of-28)
Tally more fast break points (20 to GSW’s 7)
And bully for more points in the paint (62 to GSW’s 44)
…you’d probably assume the Warriors were about to take another depressing L. But the Warriors simply don’t like losing to Memphis anymore, and they continually find ways to out Grit-N-Grind the trash talking brutes when the game is in the balance. Did you know that dating back to the playoffs last spring and adding in the Christmas Day whupping, Golden State has beaten the Grizzlies three straight times in Chase Center?
Last night the champs outscored Memphis 32-24 in the fourth quarter…Curry, Thompson, and Poole combined to score 31 of those crucial points. It’s clear that Memphis has no idea how to guard this trio.
More on the Splash Bros and the Poole Party in a bit. Golden State won the physicality battle on the boards last night, outrebounding Memphis 44-36. Draymond Green led all players in cleaning the glass, snagging 13 rebounds to go along with 8 points, 7 assists, and 3 blocks. Kevon Looney came off the bench as Coach Steve Kerr continued to roll out the Curry-Thompson-Poole starting group, and the Loon Dawg grabbed 8 boards in 20 minutes, four of them on the offensive glass.
Did you know Memphis leads the NBA in rebounds per game? And yet the Dubs outhustled and outmuscled them to the ball all night long. YOU CAN’T TEACH EFFORT, FOLKS!
Warriors don’t need Steph to beat Grizzlies
Back to the Curry-Thompson-Poole trio, specifically one moment from last night that will live on Dub Nation’s memories. Late in the fourth quarter, Golden State’s two-time MVP Curry was putting Grizzlies’ star Ja Morant into the torture chamber to push the dramatic comeback.
Had that boy on SKATESSSSSSS. Curry was red-hot, making all three of his shot attempts and scoring 10 points in the final period.
Then with Golden State clinging to a 116-114 lead with just under 90 seconds to play, Donte DiVincenzo heroically tapped out a rebound over three Grizzlies (!) to Klay Thompson. Killa Klay (who finished with 8 clutch points in the final frame) quickly dished the rock to the young daredevil Poole. Curry teleported to Poole’s side with his hands out, begging for the ball to help put the final nail in Memphis’ coffin.
Keep in mind that recently Curry has been heavily criticized since returning from his long injury absence for some clunky late game decision making and difficult shot selection; this was his chance to get himself and this franchise back on track against a conference rival.
But Poole didn’t care about all that. He immediately hoisted a three-pointer from so deep he might as well have shot it from Marin County. It was a ridiculous 30-foot trick shot that thudded off the rim, a mind-numbingly bad brick in a big-time moment of a heated game.
As the terrible miss was gobbled up by the hungry Grizzlies, Curry exploded with frustration. The greatest player in the league indignantly spat out his mouth piece and hurled it like a lightning bolt, a demonstratively fed-up moment that crystallized the pain of integrating a budding young star-in-the-making like Poole with the proven assassins that are the Splash Bros.
It also alerted the referees who apparently have a league edict to eject Steph whenever he has a tantrum with a projectile involved. THEY THREW THE MVP OUT OF THE GAME!
Referee antics aside…this is the criticism of the “two-timeline” approach by Golden State where they seek to develop the future ballers of the franchise while simultaneously appeasing and squeezing another ounce of juice out of this veteran core.
How will the Warriors win if they have to sacrifice the rhythm of their vets to give the young guys space to grow? And how can the young guys truly spread their wings with certified Hall-of-Famers demanding they stick to the script and not hoist hero-ball shots in the crunchtime?
Then again…didn’t the Warriors just win a freakin’ trophy less than 12 months ago while cobbling together lottery picks and bargain bin vets around the core? They’ve got championship DNA, something the Grizzlies knows absolutely nothing about.
Suddenly, Golden State remembered that they didn’t have Curry on Christmas Day either when they smacked Memphis around; surely they could survive the last minute of gametime without him! And that’s exactly what they did, eventually putting the Grizzlies away on this beautiful game winner from (YOU GUESSED IT) the irrepressible Mr. Poole.
Don’t fear Memphis, Dub Nation. Fear what havoc the Warriors will wreak on the league once they figure this season out and activate GOLDBLOODED DOMINATION MODE.
Best Plays From NBA All-Star Starter Steph Curry | 2022-23 NBA Season | NBA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elyh-gxwYJI
Ayton had 19 points and 20 rebounds tonight, but he was 6/20 FGs and 7/10 FTs. Yikes.