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Draymond Green: Warriors Showed Grizzlies 'This Isn't the Minnesota Timberwolves'
May 10, 2022
The Golden State Warriors are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals after overcoming a 12-point deficit to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 101-98 on Monday.
One day later, Warriors forward Draymond Green went on his podcast to discuss the matchup and noted that his team is a cut above Memphis' first-round opponent, the Minnesota Timberwolves (around the 4:15 mark).
Green's remarks were in reference to the Warriors' 142-112 win in Game 3, when Golden State won by 30 despite a 34-point performance from Memphis point guard Ja Morant.
Golden State holds a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET in Memphis.
Green was overall very respectful of the Grizzlies, who played Game 4 without Morant because of a right knee injury, during his podcast.
Among numerous comments, Green recognized that Memphis was 20-5 entering Monday with Morant and then said the Warriors "got away with one that we probably shouldn't have won."
He also complimented Jaren Jackson Jr., who had a team-high 21 points and five blocks, saying that he was having an "absolutely incredible game."
However, Green also noted that the Warriors, who have won five Western Conference titles and three NBA championships since 2014, are "battle-tested" and have "championship pedigree."
Memphis is a young team on the rise that should be a perennial Western Conference title contender for years to come with a core led by Morant, who is flanked by a talented crew that includes Jackson, Desmond Bane and Brandon Clarke.
The Western Conference's No. 2 seed had some issues with the No. 7 seed Timberwolves in the first round, with the underdogs pushing the Grizz to six games.
Memphis also had to overcome deficits of 26, 13 and 13 again in Games 3, 5 and 6, respectively, to win those matchups.
The semifinals have proved to be much harder, and now the Grizzlies' backs are against the wall. Still, they have a tremendous amount of fight in them as evidenced by their near-upset win in San Francisco, and overcoming a 3-1 deficit isn't unprecedented.