On Tuesday night, the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116, winning their first play-in game and locking in the No.7 seed and a matchup with the Houston Rockets in the first round. The Warriors have previously matched up with the Rockets four times, winning all of the games, but this Rockets team is a new, younger squad.
The Warriors lost this game in another universe, and NBA Twitter could clown them for being 0-4 in the play-in. Getting “Playoff Jimmy” Butler at the deadline and not making it to the playoffs would be a nightmare. However, I have complete confidence that the Warriors (in this hypothetical) could probably beat the winner of the Mavs v. Kings. Still, they’d end up being the No. 8 seed to the Oklahoma City Thunder and that whooping is cooked up already.
Although, I still have faith that the Grizzlies can make the playoffs at the No. 8 seed; I believe that more of their backup cast must have an impact because Ja Morant is injured in this game. Morant rolled his ankle and came back in the fourth quarter noticeably hobbled, but he managed to get 22 points. Desmond Bane was electric from beyond the arc, shooting 5-8 from beyond the arc with 30 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. caught much flak for, at one point in the game, having fewer rebounds than Curry did, and Zach Edey shot 4 of 11 this game, getting doubled as much as possible. That’s one of the Warriors’ strengths: going up against larger teams and making their taller opponents’ lives much harder. The Grizzlies went on a run, showing they are better than their record indicates.
Regarding free throws and foul calls, it felt like a lot of them went the Grizzlies’ way, but both Curry and Butler had 13 and 12 free throws made, respectively. I still like to believe whistles, along with the Lakers and maybe the Celtics, are more in their favor regarding foul calls and free throws, especially after Butler got traded there.
The Warriors are 3-2 against the Rockets this regular season, but I expect the Rockets to come at them fiercely, with a potential six or seven-game series. The Warriors’ advancement will not come easily.