What Warriors Game 1 Victory In Memphis Means For Rest Of Series
Two missed free-throws by Klay Thompson with 6.7 seconds left in Game 1 put the Golden State Warriors in jeopardy of losing the opening game of their Western Conference Semifinals series to the Memphis Grizzlies, a game that Golden State had led by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter.
With 3.6 second left on the clock, the Grizzlies inbounded the ball in the middle of the court and Ja Morant quickly took off towards the rim, looking to hit yet another game-winning layup in the postseason like he did their previous series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Whether it was the swarming defense on him or Morant going a little bit too fast, his layup flew off the backboard and the final buzzer rang, giving the Warriors a slim 117-116 victory to take a 1-0 series lead.
In a game where everything went wrong for the Warriors defensively and in terms of certain calls not going their way, they still managed to defeat the Grizzlies, giving them a huge advantage early on in this playoff series.
Winning Game 1 is a big deal for Golden State, especially since they have won all but one playoff series under Steve Kerr when taking the first game. Memphis now has their backs up against the wall heading into Tuesday’s Game 2 and we learned a lot about what the rest of this series could look like from Sunday’s game.
Draymond Green’s Availability Depends On His Temper
With just over a minute left in the first-half of Game 1, Grizzlies’ big man Brandon Clarke drove to the rim for a layup, only to be met by Draymond Green who fouled him hard.
Green had made contact with the head/neck area of Clarke and then grabbed a hold of his jersey, pulling him to the ground and holding onto him to avoid the possibility of Brandon Clarke getting hurt.
Initially, this play looked a lot worse than it actually turned out to be, but the officials did not seem to think so, as they hit Draymond with a Flagrant Foul type 2, ejecting the Warriors’ defensive All-Star from the game.
The NBA has since reviewed this foul and have deemed that they will not be reducing this flagrant foul ruling, meaning that Draymond Green could be in a little bit of trouble the rest of this series and in the playoffs.
The veteran big man is already given a very short leash by some officials in the NBA and because of Green’s style of play and his constant talking, he is in danger of being suspended one playoff game.
Per NBA rules, Draymond Green now has two “flagrant foul points” and four in the postseason results in a one game suspension. A flagrant foul penalty 1 results in one flagrant foul point and a flagrant Foul penalty 2 results in two.
One more hard foul that is deemed “unnecessary and excessive” by the referees will mean that Green will be forced to miss a playoff game, something that will trigger many Warriors’ fans PTSD of when he sat out in the 2016 NBA Finals, ultimately leading to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ comeback to win the title after trailing 3-1 in the series.
How Draymond Green defends the rest of the series and how aggressive he is willing to be in terms of physicality could now be impacted by the fact that he is flirting with danger in terms of flagrant foul points.
Jordan Poole Is The Missing Championship Piece
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are future Hall-of-Famers because of how good of offensive talents they are, but Jordan Poole has truly emerged as the key for the Warriors this season.
In their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, Poole averaged 21.0 points, 5.4 assists and shot 48.4% from three-point range while recording three games with at least 27 points.
In Game 1 against the Grizzlies on Sunday, Poole continued to dominate, scoring 31 points on 5-10 shooting from deep off-the-bench and he added 8 rebounds and 9 assists to his name as well.
At just 22-years-old, Jordan Poole has taken a tremendous leap for Golden State in the recent weeks and he is proving to be the championship piece that this organization has been missing since 2019.
Poole can score, he can facilitate, he can rebound and he provides them with a spark of energy off-the-bench, which is why he is one of the most important players on this roster.
How Memphis adjusts to defend the Warriors’ young guard will be interesting and looking ahead, should the Warriors be able to get past the Grizzlies, Poole could end up being the reason they win their fourth title in the last eight seasons.
Memphis Must Take Advantage of Size Differential
Looking ahead to the rest of this Western Conference Semifinals series, the Memphis Grizzlies really have little room for error.
While it is not a “must-win-game,” the Grizzlies will enter Game 2 really needing a victory to avoid going down 0-2 heading to San Francisco for two games. If they drop two straight at home to begin this series to the Warriors, it is not crazy to believe that Golden State will close out this series on their home court.
Not only do the Grizzlies need Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks to step up on offense, but they must find ways to attack the Warriors as a team in terms of rebounding.
Maybe when Steven Adams returns he can be a factor, but the Warriors’ should not be a strong rebounding team right now. Kevon Looney is coming off-the-bench for them and playing Draymond Green at the center position, Golden State is giving up a lot of height at times with their “small-ball” approach.
Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke must control the glass on both ends of the floor, but the rest of this Grizzlies team needs to be aggressive on the interior because the Warriors outrebounded the Grizzlies 51-47 in Game 1.
They will not be able to get all the rebounds, but Memphis could really put a lot of pressure on Golden State if they were to constantly attack the offensive boards. Not only could this create a ton of second-chance scoring opportunities, but it could also put the Warriors in foul trouble.
If Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney are picking up fouls, the Warriors will become an even smaller team, giving Memphis the edge that they need in this series, especially given some of the athletic talents they have.
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