Four keys to Warriors breaking play-in losing streak vs. Grizzlies originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
- Programming Note: Tune into “Warriors Pregame Live” at 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday on NBC Sports Bay Area before the Warriors and Grizzlies tip-off. Immediately after the final buzzer, tune back in for “Warriors Postgame Live.”
The Warriors lost three of their final five games to fall out of the NBA playoffs at the end of the regular season. All three were home at Chase Center. Golden State fell to the play-in tournament as the No. 7 seed, a place the Warriors have found themselves in three times and lost each time.
For a team who houses the greatest 3-point shooter ever, three isn’t always their friend. They have to hope four brings a new fate.
When the Warriors face the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night they already will have played them four times this season, and are 3-1. See, three isn’t all that bad. But for the Warriors to get to a fourth win against the Grizzlies this season, and their first in four play-in tournament games, these four aspects will be key.
Play-In Stars
The stats don’t count. They don’t exist. The games still happened, and history can’t be fully ignored.
Steph Curry is 0-3 in the play-in tournament, to almost no fault of his own. In his first crack at the new format in 2021, Curry scored 76 points and made 12 threes combined between the Warriors’ two losses. He dropped 37 points in a three-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and then 39 while losing to the Grizzlies in overtime by five points.
In his third try, Curry scored a team-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting last season and made three of his seven 3-point attempts as the Warriors were embarrassed by their Northern California counterparts, the Sacramento Kings.
Jimmy Butler’s history with the play-in tournament is a bit different. Like Curry, Butler lost his first play-in game. He scored 21 points in an 11-point loss as the No. 7 seed against the No. 8 seed Atlanta Hawks in 2023 with nine assists, four rebounds and two steals. Butler went a lowly 6 of 19 from the field in that loss, going 9 of 11 on free throws. He then put up 31 points against the Chicago Bulls the next game to advance, and averaged 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the next three series of the playoffs to lead the eighth-seeded Heat to the NBA Finals.
This past season, Butler played 40 minutes in the Heat’s one-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the play-in tournament, scoring 19 points, with four rebounds, five assists and five steals. But he sustained a sprained right MCL in the first quarter, playing through the pain, but then missing the rest of the postseason for Miami.
Just go back 14 days when Curry scored 52 points on the Grizzlies and made 12 threes. Curry had his co-star. Butler scored 27 points in the Warriors’ win on 7-of-11 shooting and was a perfect 12 of 12 on free throws, adding six rebounds, four assists and three steals for fun. It’s true that Curry scored a team-high 36 points against the LA Clippers on Sunday, but Butler (30 points, nine assists, 12-of-20 shooting, plus-five) was the Warriors’ best player.
Golden State’s outcome starts and ends with them.
JJJ Foul Trouble
Draymond Green couldn’t have expected a fifth game against the Grizzlies. In a moment where Green let his guard down, he played big brother for his fellow Michigan State Spartan when, after the Warriors’ win in Memphis on April 1, the 35-year-old, who doesn’t mince his words, said “he’s too good to still be getting foul trouble.” Green was talking about Jaren Jackson Jr.
The 2022-23 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
The Warriors have a history baiting Jackson into foul trouble and out of games. Green is a big part of that history. Butler added to the storyline in his first game against the Grizzlies in a Warriors jersey.
With the Warriors up 123-122 after two free throws from Butler, and only two minutes on the clock, he baited Jackson into a shooting foul the next time down. Jackson’s day was done with 22 points and seven rebounds, but also six fouls. Butler made both free throws and from that point on, the Warriors outscored the Grizzlies 11-3 to close out their win.
Jackson is a game-changer, including how his fouls affect his team. He fouled out in five games and the Grizzlies lost four. The win was a score of 151-148 in overtime against the Phoenix Suns, and Jackson scored 28 points on a night he shot 13 times and missed just twice. He also accumulated five fouls in 19 games.
The Grizzlies won six and lost 13. Jackson’s availability is his best ability against the Warriors.
The Glass
Ivica Zubac grabbed 17 rebounds in the Warriors’ wild overtime loss to end the regular season, giving him three games with at least 17 rebounds in his four this season against Golden State. He had 11 in the other one. Grizzlies rookie center Zach Edey, who stands four inches taller than the 7-foot Zubac, came away with 16 rebounds against the Warriors two weeks ago.
But the Warriors still won the rebound battle that day by six, 49-43. On Sunday in their loss to LA, Zubac and the rest of the Clippers finished with 17 more rebounds than them. The Warriors only had 25 rebounds in total, their lowest of the season. Prior to the regular-season finale, their season-low was 29, which actually came in an eight-point win against the Grizzlies on Jan. 4.
That also was a game where the Warriors were without Curry and still made 23 threes. The Grizzlies made nine. The Warriors have only averaged 15 threes per game since Butler’s arrival, and never have made 23 in a game with him. In their five games against the Grizzlies, the Warriors have shot 42 percent from deep, and rebounds only will give them more opportunities.
The Grizzlies are the No. 2 rebounding team in the NBA, averaging 47.3 per game. They’ve averaged 50 in their four games with the Warriors. The Warriors have averaged 42.5 in those four games, and are the No. 7 rebounding team in the league with 45.4 per game.
They’re now 14-18 when their opponent out-rebounds them, and the Warriors are 32-17 in games they out-rebound the other team. The Warriors have averaged 51.8 rebounds in 31 games after adding Butler, and in those games allowed an average of 50.1 rebounds. The glass is an area the Warriors have to win, or at least keep a close contest.
Bench Battle
Going into the last day of the regular season, the Warriors and Grizzlies were tied for the league lead in bench points per game, averaging 44 from their reserves. The San Antonio Spurs wound up leaping them as the NBA’s leaders at 44.1 points per game from the bench. The Grizzlies ended in second place (43.9), and the Warriors were third (43.6).
Below is how each Warriors-Grizzlies game ended this season in regard to bench points.
- Nov. 15: Warriors 67, Grizzlies 61; Warriors win 123-118
- Dec. 19: Grizzlies 82, Warriors 65; Grizzlies win 144-93
- Jan. 4: Warriors 46, Grizzlies 43; Warriors 121-113
- April 1: Grizzlies 33, Warriors 24; Warriors win 134-125
Now for some context to paint a clearer picture.
Jake LaRavia was traded from Memphis to the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 6. He scored 43 points off the bench against the Warriors with the Grizzlies, including 19 in their second contest and 17 in their third. Marcus Smart played just 19 games for the Grizzlies, but one of them was their first game against Golden State when he scored nine bench points.
Desmond Bane (18 points) and Edey (14 points) both came off the bench for the Grizzlies on Nov. 15. Moses Moody (14 points) and Brandin Podziemski (11 points) did for the Warriors. Podziemski was a bench player on Dec. 19, and scored 21 points. Kyle Anderson, now on the Miami Heat, scored 11 for the Warriors. Lindy Waters III, traded from the Warriors to the Detroit Pistons, had 16 points in the Warriors’ Jan. 4 win. And the Grizzlies were without Santi Aldama in that game.
Jonathan Kuminga was hurt in the Warriors’ last game against the Grizzlies, but if Sunday was any indication, he’ll be a non-factor after being a DNP-CD (Did Not Play, Coach’s Decision).
The Warriors and Grizzlies both went with a nine-man rotation in their most recent matchup. Stars like Curry, Butler and Ja Morant hold the most power in the final outcome. A better performance out of Aldama or Buddy Hield could be the nudge that puts their team over the edge.
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Four keys to Warriors breaking play-in losing streak vs. Grizzlies
- Programming Note: Tune into “Warriors Pregame Live” at 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday on NBC Sports Bay Area before the Warriors and Grizzlies tip-off. Immediately after the final buzzer, tune back in for “Warriors Postgame Live.”
The Warriors lost three of their final five games to fall out of the NBA playoffs at the end of the regular season. All three were home at Chase Center. Golden State fell to the play-in tournament as the No. 7 seed, a place the Warriors have found themselves in three times and lost each time.
For a team who houses the greatest 3-point shooter ever, three isn’t always their friend. They have to hope four brings a new fate.
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When the Warriors face the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night they already will have played them four times this season, and are 3-1. See, three isn’t all that bad. But for the Warriors to get to a fourth win against the Grizzlies this season, and their first in four play-in tournament games, these four aspects will be key.
Play-In Stars
The stats don’t count. They don’t exist. The games still happened, and history can’t be fully ignored.
Steph Curry is 0-3 in the play-in tournament, to almost no fault of his own. In his first crack at the new format in 2021, Curry scored 76 points and made 12 threes combined between the Warriors’ two losses. He dropped 37 points in a three-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and then 39 while losing to the Grizzlies in overtime by five points.
Golden State Warriors
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In his third try, Curry scored a team-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting last season and made three of his seven 3-point attempts as the Warriors were embarrassed by their Northern California counterparts, the Sacramento Kings.
Jimmy Butler’s history with the play-in tournament is a bit different. Like Curry, Butler lost his first play-in game. He scored 21 points in an 11-point loss as the No. 7 seed against the No. 8 seed Atlanta Hawks in 2023 with nine assists, four rebounds and two steals. Butler went a lowly 6 of 19 from the field in that loss, going 9 of 11 on free throws. He then put up 31 points against the Chicago Bulls the next game to advance, and averaged 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the next three series of the playoffs to lead the eighth-seeded Heat to the NBA Finals.
This past season, Butler played 40 minutes in the Heat’s one-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the play-in tournament, scoring 19 points, with four rebounds, five assists and five steals. But he sustained a sprained right MCL in the first quarter, playing through the pain, but then missing the rest of the postseason for Miami.
Just go back 14 days when Curry scored 52 points on the Grizzlies and made 12 threes. Curry had his co-star. Butler scored 27 points in the Warriors’ win on 7-of-11 shooting and was a perfect 12 of 12 on free throws, adding six rebounds, four assists and three steals for fun. It’s true that Curry scored a team-high 36 points against the LA Clippers on Sunday, but Butler (30 points, nine assists, 12-of-20 shooting, plus-five) was the Warriors’ best player.
Golden State’s outcome starts and ends with them.
JJJ Foul Trouble
Draymond Green couldn’t have expected a fifth game against the Grizzlies. In a moment where Green let his guard down, he played big brother for his fellow Michigan State Spartan when, after the Warriors’ win in Memphis on April 1, the 35-year-old, who doesn’t mince his words, said “he’s too good to still be getting foul trouble.” Green was talking about Jaren Jackson Jr.
The 2022-23 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
The Warriors have a history baiting Jackson into foul trouble and out of games. Green is a big part of that history. Butler added to the storyline in his first game against the Grizzlies in a Warriors jersey.
With the Warriors up 123-122 after two free throws from Butler, and only two minutes on the clock, he baited Jackson into a shooting foul the next time down. Jackson’s day was done with 22 points and seven rebounds, but also six fouls. Butler made both free throws and from that point on, the Warriors outscored the Grizzlies 11-3 to close out their win.
Jackson is a game-changer, including how his fouls affect his team. He fouled out in five games and the Grizzlies lost four. The win was a score of 151-148 in overtime against the Phoenix Suns, and Jackson scored 28 points on a night he shot 13 times and missed just twice. He also accumulated five fouls in 19 games.
The Grizzlies won six and lost 13. Jackson’s availability is his best ability against the Warriors.
The Glass
Ivica Zubac grabbed 17 rebounds in the Warriors’ wild overtime loss to end the regular season, giving him three games with at least 17 rebounds in his four this season against Golden State. He had 11 in the other one. Grizzlies rookie center Zach Edey, who stands four inches taller than the 7-foot Zubac, came away with 16 rebounds against the Warriors two weeks ago.
But the Warriors still won the rebound battle that day by six, 49-43. On Sunday in their loss to LA, Zubac and the rest of the Clippers finished with 17 more rebounds than them. The Warriors only had 25 rebounds in total, their lowest of the season. Prior to the regular-season finale, their season-low was 29, which actually came in an eight-point win against the Grizzlies on Jan. 4.
That also was a game where the Warriors were without Curry and still made 23 threes. The Grizzlies made nine. The Warriors have only averaged 15 threes per game since Butler’s arrival, and never have made 23 in a game with him. In their five games against the Grizzlies, the Warriors have shot 42 percent from deep, and rebounds only will give them more opportunities.
The Grizzlies are the No. 2 rebounding team in the NBA, averaging 47.3 per game. They’ve averaged 50 in their four games with the Warriors. The Warriors have averaged 42.5 in those four games, and are the No. 7 rebounding team in the league with 45.4 per game.
They’re now 14-18 when their opponent out-rebounds them, and the Warriors are 32-17 in games they out-rebound the other team. The Warriors have averaged 51.8 rebounds in 31 games after adding Butler, and in those games allowed an average of 50.1 rebounds. The glass is an area the Warriors have to win, or at least keep a close contest.
Bench Battle
Going into the last day of the regular season, the Warriors and Grizzlies were tied for the league lead in bench points per game, averaging 44 from their reserves. The San Antonio Spurs wound up leaping them as the NBA’s leaders at 44.1 points per game from the bench. The Grizzlies ended in second place (43.9), and the Warriors were third (43.6).
Below is how each Warriors-Grizzlies game ended this season in regard to bench points.
- Nov. 15: Warriors 67, Grizzlies 61; Warriors win 123-118
- Dec. 19: Grizzlies 82, Warriors 65; Grizzlies win 144-93
- Jan. 4: Warriors 46, Grizzlies 43; Warriors 121-113
- April 1: Grizzlies 33, Warriors 24; Warriors win 134-125
Now for some context to paint a clearer picture.
Jake LaRavia was traded from Memphis to the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 6. He scored 43 points off the bench against the Warriors with the Grizzlies, including 19 in their second contest and 17 in their third. Marcus Smart played just 19 games for the Grizzlies, but one of them was their first game against Golden State when he scored nine bench points.
Desmond Bane (18 points) and Edey (14 points) both came off the bench for the Grizzlies on Nov. 15. Moses Moody (14 points) and Brandin Podziemski (11 points) did for the Warriors. Podziemski was a bench player on Dec. 19, and scored 21 points. Kyle Anderson, now on the Miami Heat, scored 11 for the Warriors. Lindy Waters III, traded from the Warriors to the Detroit Pistons, had 16 points in the Warriors’ Jan. 4 win. And the Grizzlies were without Santi Aldama in that game.
Jonathan Kuminga was hurt in the Warriors’ last game against the Grizzlies, but if Sunday was any indication, he’ll be a non-factor after being a DNP-CD (Did Not Play, Coach’s Decision).
The Warriors and Grizzlies both went with a nine-man rotation in their most recent matchup. Stars like Curry, Butler and Ja Morant hold the most power in the final outcome. A better performance out of Aldama or Buddy Hield could be the nudge that puts their team over the edge.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast
