Should The Warriors Be Concerned After Blowout Loss To Memphis?
In Game 3 of this Western Conference Semifinals series between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies, the Warriors dismantled the Grizzlies, beating them 142-112 in San Francisco.
All game long, Memphis could get nothing going and Golden State took advantage of this, hitting shot after shot from long-range and completely taking all the life out of this Grizzlies’ team.
In Game 5 on Wednesday night though, the Grizzlies gave the Warriors a taste of their own medicine, winning 134-95 in a game that they led by as many as 55 points!
This game was over in the first-half and without Ja Morant, Memphis was able to pull off one of their best wins this season and arguably one of the greatest wins in their team’s postseason history.
Down 3-1 in this series, nobody really expected the Grizzlies to have a chance at extending this series, but now they trail 3-2 heading back to San Francisco with a chance to pull off a road win to even this series at 3-3, forcing a decisive Game 7 on their home floor.
The Grizzlies’ philosophy heading in Game 5 was simple – Play with energy and play physically.
Memphis did just that in this one, as they came out of the gates firing from three-point range and absolutely locking up the Warriors' offense.
Stephen Curry could not get going coming off of ball screens and while Klay Thompson was knocking down shots early, he was just about the only Warriors’ player connecting. Time-and-time again, the Grizzlies’ defense forced a turnover and at halftime, Golden State had 14 total turnovers!
Due to the Warriors' mistakes on offense, the Grizzlies ended up with 19 more shot attempts than them and they were able to get every single look they wanted out of their offensive sets. Jaren Jackson Jr., Tyus Jones and Desmond Bane each had 21 points and for once in this series, the Grizzlies won the battle on the interior, outscoring the Warriors 50-36 in the paint and outrebounding them 55-37, including 18-4 on offensive rebounds.
“We've exceeded expectations ever since I've been here,” Grizzlies’ wing Desmond Bane said after his team’s massive Game 5 victory. “It almost seems whenever someone thinks we can't do something, we end up doing it. So I never want to put a limit on this team on what we can do because anything's possible.”
This ended up being one of the most embarrassing losses the Warriors core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have ever had, which raises some questions about if this team is a true championship contender or not.
They are now 2-3 on the road in the playoffs and while they still have the upper hand in this series, Memphis has seemed to figure out ways to slow them down.
After averaging 26.0 points per game through the first three games in this series, Jordan Poole has combined to score just 17 points over the last two games and with Gary Payton II already out, the Warriors are now dealing with yet another injury, this time to Otto Porter Jr. who left Game 5 early with right foot soreness.
Everything that could have gone wrong in Game 5 went wrong for the Warriors, but the heart and soul of the team does not seemed to be too worried.
“Down by 55, down by five, lost by 55, lost by five -- we lost,” All-Star Draymond Green said following the loss. “It's one game in the loss column in the series. Don't make too much of it.”
Following the game, Draymond also recorded a new episode of The Draymond Green Show, giving some of his insight as to what went wrong and the team’s mindset after Game 5’s blowout loss:
“For us, what we have to realize is this is not the same team we were playing to start this series, so you almost have to make the adjustment in this series, for us, as if we are starting an entirely different series… Our game plan was built around Ja Morant and it is not that anymore and they are a totally different team without Ja… We have to approach this next game as an entirely different series and what adjustments are we making from series-to-series and approach this next game like that because that’s just a totally different team than what we were playing.”
The Warriors did not look great in Game 4 of this series, barely beating the Grizzlies 101-98 in a game that they took their first lead in during the final minute of play, and now after Game 5’s mess, should this team be concerned the rest of the way?
Look, the Memphis Grizzlies are a great team… a fantastic team that won 56 games during the regular season and one that is only going to get better every time they step foot on the floor together because of how young they all are.
However, when a playoff series gets to a Game 6 or a Game 7, experience and championship DNA tends to play a major role. This is not to say that younger, less experienced teams cannot win, but Golden State is a team that is notorious for overcoming adversity in playoff series throughout the years and in case you have forgotten, they went to the NBA Finals five times from 2015-2019, winning three titles in that span.
They are still up 3-2 in this series, they still have their core group healthy and most importantly, Golden State is heading back home to a rowdy Chase Center for Game 6 on Friday.
The Grizzlies definitely own all the momentum right now and they are playing with nothing to lose at this point, which makes them an even more dangerous team than they already are, but the Warriors really should not be feeling any ounce of concern right now.
Like Draymond Green said, whether you lose by 5 points or 55 points, a loss is still a loss and the number in the loss column does not look any different regardless of what happens in the game.
Memphis took care of business on their home floor in Game 5, extending their season a little longer, so now it is time for the Warriors’ experience and championship DNA to show in Game 6 on their home floor, where they are 4-0 this postseason and have not lost a game since March 30 to the Phoenix Suns.
“It doesn't feel good losing by as much as we did,” Klay Thompson said following the Warriors’ loss. “But in a day, it's just a loss. You flush it from your mental, and you remind yourself who you are.
“And we're going to play with a 100 percent effort on Friday. I like our chances.”
The Golden State Warriors will host Game 6 of this series against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday around 10:00 p.m. ET. on ESPN.
Related stories on NBA basketball
- Here's What Steph Curry Said After The Warriors Got Embarrassed: Steph Curry met with the media after the Golden State Warriors lost Game 5 to the Memphis Grizzlies. CLICK HERE.
- Here's What Draymond Green Said After The Warriors Got Blown Out: Draymond Green met with the media after the Golden State Warriors lost Game 5 to the Memphis Grizzlies. CLICK HERE.
