❄Warriors vs Grizzlies Silenced All the Doubters

If high stakes poker was a basketball game, Warriors vs Grizzlies was the all-in hand. With their seasons on the line, Golden State and Memphis bet everything. Both teams refused to fold, but in this zero-sum game, only one team could cash in to punch their ticket to the playoffs in a heart-pounding thriller. The following is a full tactical breakdown of what we learned from both these teams heading into the postseason. All right, Goats. Today, we've got an awesome sponsor, PrizePix, the ultimate destination for daily fantasy sports. If you think you know ball and wanna turn your pocket change into serious cash, then PrizePix has you covered. Here's how it works. You pick two to six players, decide if they are going to have more or less on their projected stats, and boom, you're basically a sports stockbroker without the boring spreadsheets. And it's not just basketball. You can bet on baseball, MMA, golf. Heck, if they had competitive thumb wrestling, I'm sure they'd have that too. Sign up today at prizepix.com or use code GOATED when you deposit $10. Play your first $5 and PrizePix will hand you $50 instantly. Whether you win or lose, let's get paid. After a brutal loss to the Hardin and Kawhi Clippers, the seventh-seeded Warriors clashed with the eighth-seeded Grizzlies with the NBA playoffs on the line. Moody got first crack at guarding Jha and was already causing problems right off the bat. But with Jha rejecting the screen, Morant used Moses' momentum against him for the step back. All about matchups. So the size of Moody, can that distract Jha Morant, who's had big games in this building? The one matchup in particular I'm looking for. Memphis' new head coach then ran a sideline out-of-bounds entry into Edie. And with the Dubs switching off the staggered DHO, Triple J was left wide open. Here's a three by JJJ here. 5-0 run to start this ballgame. From the looks of it, the whistle was going to be unbearable for Steph. Memphis' plan was to send a double to help Jha on every disadvantageous cross-match. But Moody couldn't punish the long Edie rotation off the skip pass to the corner. A three by Moody. However, with a two-on-one advantage in transition, Moses got the Dubs on the scoreboard. Dray Pachemsky, and inside to Moody. When Scottie Pippen Jr. saw Dray down, he exploited Steph at the point of attack. With Moody collapsing, Jha was on the run. Jha was left all alone with the finger on the trigger. Sorry, Adam. And kicked to Morant, a three. He's at two in a row from outside. And with pods down, Jaron Jackson Jr. didn't think twice. Edie, down goes Pachemsky. Five on four. The trailing Jackson with another three and another hit from distance. When the Grizzlies put the 7'4 Canadian on Butler, the level of disrespect was over 3,000. The Butler trade, a three. It doesn't take very many of them, but if you're gonna leave him that wide open and give him a dare shot, he can burn you. They also had Scottie Pippen Jr. face-guarding Steph, which meant that the back door was open to the chef. And that's a matchup you're gonna watch closely. Jha's first step is filthy, ridiculous, and just plain unfair. For 20 points or more, 17 consecutive games. What a handle and what a move by Jha Morant. Seven points quickly for him. In early offense, Steph's gravity was bending the entire geometry of the court, resulting in colossal gaps on the weak side. He'll think, he'll fire, he'll hit. Memphis's size on the offensive glass was giving the Grizzlies second-chance points off of reckless closeouts from the dubs. Aldama, hit as he fired, down he goes, holding onto that ankle. They'll bring him up green, the foul. With Edie guarding GP too, Coach Kerr targeted the lumbering Big with small-on-small ball screens. Peyton will slash inside. With five off the bench here for Peyton Jr. Despite not converting, this touch-pass play from Memphis was incredible. On greens, I'm not gonna let Curry or Butler decide a beat there. Bain, oh what a pass. A ramp to Edie who could not hammer at all. And of course, nothing goes unpunished in the NBA as the dubs hit the trailing post for a five-point swing. The trailing post, it's a three. Post let all rookie scores from that three-point line. The Steph top-locking coverage continued, but Dre's DHO screening was opening runways for the baby-faced assassin to take off. Curry will drive and a floater. You're top-locking him most of the time and he's underrated his float game. A 16-5 run for Golden State, whose defense had now intensified. Off the jump ball, Steph quickscope sniped healed and Memphis had to call a timeout. It's won by Curry. A head to heel. But the full court pressure the dubs had was still discombobulating the Grizzlies even after the break. The rule for wings in transition is to run wide and deep. GP too knew the assignment and was paid handsomely for playing textbook basketball. There is something called a playoff Butler in there, huh? What a pass inside, Butler. The Warriors have this other gear they can enter defensively and it's very scary. And when they are hitting threes to boot, they feel like an unstoppable avalanche. Post three. Add playoff Jimmy to the equation and it's like, bro, what am I watching? But Luke got it. After Memphis had gone six minutes without a field goal, Bain and Luke finally stopped the bleeding. Great three-point shooter with the fake. He'll put one up, good if it goes, and it is a three by Luke Cunard. 31-25, after a 7-0 Grizzlies run to end the first. The second quarter started with Jimmy spearheading the Dubs' point of attack defense and forcing turnovers. And Post was thriving as a trailer and splashing from downtown. Rather than settling for threes, Butler now started attacking Eadie on closeouts. Outside Butler, into Eadie, around Williams. And he didn't settle for a three. And in isolation. He's won the regular season series with Memphis, three games to one. Butler drives on Eadie. It's too easy. And Eadie's gonna be out there on the floor trying to guard Jimmy Butler. And this allowed Kerr to manage Curry's minutes smartly. The Dubs' defense was tight. Their rotations, completely in sync. And they were doing a masterful job of shrinking, driving lanes, and forcing the Grizzlies into turnovers. But as sharp as Golden State's scheme was, Desmond Bain kept Memphis afloat. The ball, picked up by Williams, out to Bain. Huge, huge. So Kerr adjusted. And started blitzing Bain on the pick and roll to force the ball out of his hands early. The whoever offense on Eadie continued. But with Dre catching a breather, the Grizzlies finally started carving up the paint with dribble penetration. Grant is in, weaving, driving. Stutter stepping and getting it to go. Still, Butler anchored the Warriors, finding a sneaky Santos under the rim for the and one. Into Santos. He's doubled, but he pulls the trigger. Butler now up to four assists. And this is why you don't give any space to the chef. Santos is for Curry from way outside. Got it! Hits it from Alcaz. And if you thought his off-ball movement was slowing down at 37, textbook relocation from the best shooter God has ever created. Looney to Curry. Curry, the incredible shot. And he was leading the charge, turning defense into offense. He's down. Now get it. Eadie, to his credit, was holding his own too, using his size well on both sides of the floor. The screen, inside to Looney. The bump, trying to twist. Three second. Jaws drive and kick game started generating good shots for Memphis. Aldama, three, good. And after the break, we got to hear from the new finish head coach. We gotta get organized in transition, okay? Every time we drive, okay, something happens, they're sprinting right away back, okay? Communication, make sure we protect the rim, and we take out the hot threes. Pippen Jr. was still glued to Steph, face guarding like it was a one-on-one drill. This is gonna be a foul on Pippen Jr., reaching in against Curry. Nine, nothing running for the Grizzlies. The Dubs' mistakes led to Jaw getting loose. Here comes Berant, the other way, and he got it from Pippen. And once he was loose, he started spamming that hostage dribble before going full Tracy McGrady on them. Great ones in this area. Here's Berant. Oh, he did it on purpose. And he got it to go. How in the world did he pull that off? On the other side of the court, Jimmy just kept making solid reads off of Draymond. The cutting block. And once again, his relentless rim pressure kept earning him trip after trip to the stripe. Then came the Butler post-ups as playmaking hubs. Even with Draymond missing the layup, he was there on cleanup duty. Nice cut. With the Grizzlies in panicked rotation, the Dubs kept cashing in. The free throw shooting. Curry, Butler was in stride in the corner, Moody. Green, a fake pass. Out to Moody, it's a three. Despite leading by 20 at one point, the Warriors entered halftime with a 12-point cushion, 67 to 55. At the beginning of the third, Coach Kerss sent a hard double to Eadie in the post, and the Rook couldn't handle the pressure. Rixon, the pass is high. It's a Memphis turnover. And the Steph back screen on the Warriors' classic split action was giving the Grizzlies migraines. State's 33 and four. Inside, Butler puts it in. On the ball screen, Jimmy was doubling off Eadie and then recovering. And off the strong side zone, he was the double to negate the baseline drive as well. But with Curry responsible for tagging and manning the interior, the size discrepancy was untenable. The hard doubles to Eadie in the post kept coming. But with the clock expiring, Bain threw up a prayer, and the basketball gods answered. Today, in his mind, is his biggest asset. Bain's three, what a shot! Another Eadie turnover off the double led to easy points for the Warriors in transition. Reception, 12 turnovers. Moody, the cutting button. But Memphis kept going to him and forced feeding him again and again. To counter the size, Jimmy went right at the Canadian, forcing the fourth foul for the big, which meant that he had to sit. But Memphis refused to say die. Pippen, Pippen. Bobby kept his composure and puts it down. Pretty play by Scottie Pippen Jr. That was the fourth foul for Dre as well. Jaws hang dribble off the Triple J ball screen drew two to the ball, opening up the easy lob. And with the momentum tilting, everything was now clicking for the Grizzlies. Moody is in, scoops it up, and two! With a dive and a scoop and score! Pretty play by Desmond Bain. The dubs could not buy a bucket to save their lives. While Memphis was living rent-free in the paint, that's when Jimmy went full Cookie Monster off the Triple J spin. Pods was getting killed trying to contain Bain. For the Warriors, Bain with a runner. Another one, and he has done that so well. With Coach Lasalo gambling to bring Eadie back into the game with four fouls, GP2 got practice dare shots from distance. Coach Kerr saw the gamble and decided to raise, bringing Dre back into the game despite his own foul trouble. Unfortunately, Jaws suffered an ankle injury along the left side baseline. Morant will fire. Oh! And he came down on someone's ankle. He did, oh my goodness. Oh my goodness is right. Looked like he came down on someone's ankle. Oh, this is the worst thing right now during this Grizzlies run. He is gingerly up on his feet right now. A post-offensive rebound ended in even more disaster for the Grizzlies. Out to Curry, three! But despite everything going wrong, the Grizzlies managed to stay attached on the scoreboard. The cutting conchar! With the medical staff working on Morant, the scrappy Grizzlies were just chopping wood and carrying water while waiting for their star to return. Pops it out, Jackson retrieves, Bain a three, bullseye! Jimmy had been living at the line in this quarter, but he finished off the third by finishing amongst the trees. It's Butler with the drive. The lean and the bang, 30-3! That Warriors 12-point lead had now been cut to just three. After clawing their way back in the third, Memphis opened the fourth hot, riding that momentum to tie the game. He'll try to take, he does! And took a shot to the back of the head, got off the deck and knocked down a three. Meanwhile, the Warriors' defense was still stuck in the third gear, with conchar slipping behind the ball-watching perimeter for an easy backdoor lay. So Kerr tightened the screws and they started aggressively doubling on defense. Looney is on him, doubled by Santos, N'Douidi doubled inside, and that's the defenders! Lucky for them, Ja's night wasn't done. With a little bit of a limp, and there he is. But it was Curry's off-ball gravity that really started to bend the floor with Green finding post, cutting to the rim. And despite hobbling, Ja was still finding his spots. Got into tie, and he does with the beautiful mid-ranger. Problem was, he couldn't move vertically and Moody was making him pay. Still, Memphis had their moments with Triple J, punishing the Warriors' miscommunication on defense. But Jimmy kept doing damage where it hurt most, at the line. Been a feek, cannot get it, fouled from behind. And he wasn't just attacking, he helped unlock Steph by setting a screen that flowed straight into a handoff from Dre. Curry with 7-0-1 to go. But Memphis answered with some dazzling ball movement of their own. And fakes the three, lasers one in to Aldama. Still, Golden State had the ultimate weapon, the split action. 30% shooting for Memphis, three, Curry. And they kept dragging Eadie into the fire with GP2 screening for Steph and unleashing himself on the roll. But Bain was there, still keeping the Grizzlies alive. Filled the play. The dubs kept hunting Ja, but he kept fighting through and denying the switch. Even so, Jimmy was still Jimmy Buckets. Three, shot clock at six. He'll put this over, pinned. 30 points for Jimmy Butler. Coach Kerr then ran an inverted pick and roll into a corner handoff by Green for a Steph bomb. He pulled it out. Butler with the move. Green, Curry. And despite all the defensive schemes, Wardell Stephen Curry II rose to the occasion and showed why he is still the best shooter on planet Earth. Shot clock at 14, Green with the ball. It's Curry off the screen. Fakes, fires, stuck it. But just when the Warriors had a chance to ice it clean, Jimmy made a mistake. And with another chance to get in, Butler in traffic, threw it away. With the dubs forcing a rare five second inbound violation, it was all said and done for the Grizzlies. Five seconds. Five second violation they could not inbound. The Warriors secured the seventh seed with a 121 to 116 win over the Grizzlies. And they will now face the two-seeded Houston Rockets in a best of seven series starting this weekend.