Grizzlies are trying to recover in all possible ways.
They need to regain their basketball spirit after the Warriors beat them 142-112 in Game 3 of their second round series on Saturday night. They need to improve their perimeter defenses after Stephen Curry waltzes on the hoop over and over again. They also recover physically. Head coach Taylor Jenkins said on Sunday that there was a “really good chance” for Ja Morant to miss Game 4 after injuring his knee during the Golden State victory.
Memphis will have to find inspiration without him. It will not be easy with the powerful Warriors, who are starting to play as the most dangerous versions of themselves.
Let’s take a quick look at three pressing issues for each country heading to Game 4.
1. What was the mood on each side during the weekend?
Fred Katz: Draymond Green put it well. It’s as if these teams are walking around. Green had his screaming foul with 2 in Game 1. Dylan Brooks had the screaming 2 in Game 2. The Grizzlies now accuse Jordan Poole of a fatal knee injury.
Memphis doesn’t seem to miss the striker in Game 4, and there is obvious malice.
After the loss on Saturday, there were unpleasant comments from Grizzlies. Jenkins doubled his words about Poole once again on Sunday. He said Morant injured his knee in a game in which Poole and Warriors winger Andrew Wiggins came to pick up the All Star double in the middle of the court. He said general manager Zack Kleiman was in talks with the league, conveying how the Grizzlies felt about the game. The NBA will not discipline Poole, who does not appear to have obvious malicious intent.
“I don’t know the word anger,” said Grizzlies’ big man Xavier Tillman. “We want to win. In the end: we want to win. We do not feel in any way towards them. We are competing. ”
Anthony Slater: The Warriors were in a relaxed and confident mood. They were annoyed by Memphis ‘attempt to group Poole’s grab for Morant’s knee somewhere in the same field as Dylan Brooks’ foul. But that irritation dissipated on Sunday afternoon after he reassured that the league (and the general viewing world) had agreed that it was not a problem worth any more action or reaction.
They had a light workout and Steve Kerr held a reflective press conference, rejecting the idea that the series had been moved to a more inconvenient place than expected.
“I don’t think so,” Kerr said. “I think this is a classic match between a young, developing team and a veteran team that is trying to keep its position. Memphis, I’ve talked about this throughout the series, what an amazing job they’ve done in building the organization, what a great job Taylor has done with the team, the way they’ve designed and developed. They are a great team. They are competitive. They want what we have. You watch the history of the league, that’s how it works – the younger teams are trying to take over. Every time you have these situations, these duels, it becomes physical, sour, as you want to call it. So it doesn’t seem strange to me. “
2. What is the correction you expect?
Slater: Less protection of the zone than Warriors.
This was an under-discussed aspect of Game 3, but the Warriors increased the use of packing paint and slow protection of the area. Work. Jenkins admitted after the game that he had broken the Grizzlies’ rhythm in the first half, creating several possessions like the one below, with no flow as Memphis methodically searched for pass windows until a quick 3 was needed.
You’d think the Warriors had found a successful scheme and would continue to use it for longer periods. Perhaps. But the area is designed to keep Morant away from the road. If Morant doesn’t play, it doesn’t make sense. Even if they did, the Warriors believe the Grizzlies spent the weekend thinking a little better and may have to adapt to the trick anyway.
“Every game is different,” Kerr said. “If something works, you stay with it longer. If not, get away from it. There will be adjustments in the series. Then you need to adjust to the adjustments. They will be ready to attack the zone tomorrow and we may not play much of it. “
Kat: The Grizzlies won during the regular season, in part because they dominated the boards. They need to get back to that. An easy way to take more fights is to play Stephen Adams in Game 4. He didn’t see any action in Game 3 to garbage. But not only do they miss the presence of their usual starting center.
They were small much more often than during the regular season. The small squads did not work well without Brooks, who was penalized for match 3 and is the group’s toughest defender on the perimeter.
The young Warriors players rush to lose balls and grab long bounces too often. Grizzlies can’t just run to beat the fast competition with these ricochets. They need to box better and on the perimeter. They routinely placed Morant, for example, on Wiggins, which allowed Wiggins to break the glass himself and get advice or boards.
Golden State recovered 54.5 percent of the available fights in this series. He grabs a third of his own shortcomings. If a team does this throughout the season, it will be the second best team to bounce offensive in the last five years.
The best? Grizzlies this year. They need to return to their identity.
3. Player to watch in Game 4
Kat: Desmond Bain.
I could say the name of Thais Jones here, given that he will replace Morant if the All-Star defender has to sit for Game 4, but Bane, assuming he’s a little healthier than he was in the first three The match of this series will take a major role in the score if the Grizzlies drop out of their best player.
Memphis finished 20-5 without Morant in the regular season. Jones, of course, played a key role in this. The Grizzlies were 3.8 points per 100 possessions better when he was on the floor this year, a noticeable difference for a man who plays mostly with backups. But don’t ignore Bain, who is dealing with a lower back injury when it comes to this 20-5 record.
If the Grizzlies lack Morant, it means that they lack more than the man who organized their attack. He is their bravest goal scorer so far. He closed game 2 with 15 consecutive points in the last 266 seconds. Jones obviously can’t repeat what Morant can do in that regard, but Bane can catch fire, as he showed over and over again during the first round against the Timberwolves.
His back limits him, but he can score in groups and Memphis will need a longer period of it to steal Game 4 on the road.
Slater: Jonathan Cumming.
Otto Porter Jr. appeared in the report of injuries from match 4. Probably with an injury to his arm. Porter looked inflamed as he stiffly climbed to the podium for his off-day interview. He gave 24 pretty tough minutes in Game 3 and it’s fair to wonder how well his body will react to a quick turnaround.
If it’s not a porter’s night, the importance of cumming grows. He has just become the youngest player to ever start in a playoff game. The results were spotty. He had a few panics. But he was active in defense and scored 18 points in 8 of 10 shots.
“One of the reasons I started JK was because we lacked the ability of Gary (Peyton II) to finish,” Kerr said. “The way (Grizzlies) play, they are very aggressive, they attack everywhere. So you need some ability to finish quickly in the basket before their hit blockers get there. JK does it very well. So he will continue to be a factor. “
This is one of the internal quick jump attacks Kerr is talking about. The cumming catches and stabs the recovering Tillman as quickly as possible. It provides a dimension that no other healthy player on the roster makes, and that can be vital against Memphis.
(Photo by Stephen Curry, Ja Morant and Brandon Clark: D. Ross Cameron / USA Today)
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