Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies Pick & Prediction MARCH 18th 2023
Gino De Luca
The atmosphere figures to be tense when the road-challenged Golden State Warriors take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.
The two teams just had a testy experience in Memphis when the Grizzlies routed the Warriors 131-110 on March 9. It marked Memphis' first win in three meetings with Golden State this season.
Golden State's Draymond Green and Memphis' Dillon Brooks often have expressed their dislike for each other, magnified by last season's Western Conference semifinals ithat the Warriors won in six games. The latest matchup featured in-game animosity and postgame barbs and continued for several days.
Brooks was quoted as saying, "I just don't like Golden State. I don't like anything to do with them."
Green's reply included this shot at Brooks: "If you ever wondered why the Memphis Grizzlies are not ready to compete for the championship, look no further than this idiot right here."
The Grizzlies share the second-best record (42-27) in the Western Conference with the Sacramento Kings and have avoided slippage despite star point guard Ja Morant serving a suspension for detrimental conduct. Memphis is 4-3 entering the eighth and final game of Morant's punishment.
The Grizzlies also figure to be exuberant after setting a franchise record by recovering from a 29-point, third-quarter deficit on Friday to post a 126-120 overtime victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors (36-35) are trying to grab a top-six playoff spot in the West but have lost five of their past seven games. Golden State currently is in the first play-in spot after the Dallas Mavericks used a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night and move into the sixth spot.
The Warriors also possess a horrid 7-28 road record, and Friday's 127-119 to the Atlanta Hawks was their 10th consecutive away from home.
Still, Golden State coach Steve Kerr continues to expect a turnaround.
"It's not mental," Kerr said after the loss to the Hawks. "I think we're competing. We're playing pretty well. It's hard to win on the road in this league. We're just not getting it done."
Green missed Friday's contest due to an automatic one-game suspension for receiving his 16th technical foul on Wednesday during a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Stephen Curry scored 31 points on 12-of-27 shooting against the Hawks. Two nights earlier, he matched his season high of 50 while sinking 20 of 28 shots against the Clippers.
The game against the Grizzlies is the third of a five-game road excursion for the Warriors. Forward Kevon Looney said the club needs to focus on how it's playing as opposed to where.
"We're in these games on the road, we're playing decent playoff teams, so it's not easy to win but we still got to figure it out," Looney said. "We've got to be able to push through, we've got to be able to win on the road to complete the goal that we want."
Meanwhile, Memphis played a poor first half before the impressive rally against the Spurs. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said he had nothing to say to his players at halftime.
"We didn't watch any film," Jenkins said. "I just opened up the floor to the players to talk and said, 'What do you got for me?' Four or five guys spoke up and said it was unacceptable what we were doing in the first half.
"We were too casual, we weren't communicating, we weren't executing our coverages, we weren't playing with physicality, we weren't trusting the pass."
Tyus Jones has stood out while filling in for Morant and had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on Friday for his first career triple-double. Jones has reached double digits in assists in four of the seven games Morant has missed.
--Field Level Media
Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies Recap MAY 3TH 2022
Jordan Poole scored 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting, Stephen Curry finished with 24 points, and the visiting Golden State Warriors held on for a 117-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series.
Poole and Curry drained five 3-pointers apiece as the Warriors recovered from a double-digit deficit in the first half as well as the surprise ejection of veteran forward Draymond Green. Andrew Wiggins finished with 17 points, and Klay Thompson scored 15 despite making only six of 19 shots from the field.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 34 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. contributed 33 points and 10 rebounds, while De'Anthony Melton scored 14 off the bench.
The teams will meet for Game 2 on Tuesday night.
Neither team led by more than four points during the final five minutes, which featured four ties and two lead changes.
Golden State's Gary Payton II made a layup to even the score at 114-114 with 1:35 remaining. Memphis quickly bounced back with an alley-oop dunk by Clarke that made it 116-114 in favor of the Grizzlies with 1:16 to go.
Thompson put Golden State on top for good on a 3-pointer with 36.6 seconds remaining.
Neither team scored the rest of the way. Thompson missed a pair of free throws that could have cushioned the Warriors' lead, and Morant missed a driving scoop layup in the waning moments that could have won the game.
Green was ejected with 1:18 remaining in the first half for a flagrant-2 foul against Brandon Clarke. Replays showed that Green made contact with Clarke's head while swiping down with his arm, and he grabbed Clarke's collar during the process.
After the flagrant-2 ruling, Green ran around the court and waved his hands at the opposing crowd as boos rained down upon him. He finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes.
The Warriors finished the third quarter with a 91-90 advantage.
Golden State trailed 66-61 when Curry went off for seven consecutive points to put the Warriors on top 68-66. Curry drained a pair of step-back jump shots and a 3-pointer as Memphis battled to keep pace.
Memphis led 61-55 at the half.
--Field Level Media
- NBA
