What the Grizzlies Must Do to Stifle the Warriors Attack
The Memphis Grizzlies could hardly get in the top-seeded Golden State Warriors' way. Falling 101-86 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Sunday raised doubts about whether the Grizzlies' best defensive efforts can stop such an explosive offensive machine.
The Grizzlies lacked the aggression they showed in the first round against the Portland Trail Blazers when they won the first three games and completed the series in five.
Moreover, they face a much more potent scoring force in the Warriors after handling a short-handed Blazers team.
Containing the blue-and-yellow blur that the New Orleans Pelicans could only slow momentarily in the opening round—something that Memphis didn't show any signs of doing Sunday—requires the Grizzlies to reacquaint with the way they grind teams down.
Get physical
The Grizzlies imposed themselves on the Blazers, pushing them early in almost every game and rarely backing down. Zach Randolph held LaMarcus Aldridge to 33 percent shooting for the series by leveraging his strength.
That approach wasn't present in the series opener against the Warriors.
Whereas the Grizzlies powered their way to early leads against Portland, the Warriors shot well and disrupted Memphis while taking control in the first quarter.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson easily gained separation from the Grizzlies defenders, allowing them to quickly circulate the ball and set up high-quality attempts.
The Commercial Appeal's Geoff Calkins tweeted Marc Gasol's acknowledgment that Memphis lacked physicality.
Golden State's perimeter action exposed Randolph's defensive weakness, launching open three-pointers before he could jump out to bring pressure. His help was inadequate as the Warriors made 46.4 percent on 28 attempts, outgunning a Grizzlies team that made only three of 12 deep shots.
"All we gotta do is get out there and put a hand up," he said when asked about the Warriors' long-range shooting.
But Randolph, who is accustomed to battling players in the post, lacks the quickness to get out fast enough against the Warriors.
That means Tony Allen, Courtney Lee and other Grizzlies perimeter defenders must rotate better and close space. Allen, who excels in cutting off passing lanes, needs to take away more distribution opportunities from Thompson, who pushed the ball and created outside chances for Curry.
Bring Mike Conley back
Putting a player with little experience guarding star scorers, Nick Calathes, and a defensive lightweight, Beno Udrih, against the NBA's MVP doesn't work nearly as well as having Conley's discipline.
Calathes' 103 career playoff minutes are a far cry from Conley's five postseasons, and the second-year player's inexperience showed as Curry toyed with him Sunday.
Calathes was at a loss when Curry dashed past him and threw a behind-the-back pass to Draymond Green for a three-pointer in the first quarter.
Repeatedly, Curry would cross him up before draining shots or dumping off assists.
While Conley might not have enough quickness, with his left foot sprain, to stay with Curry on every possession, he can better anticipate Curry's moves.
Udrih was worse than Calathes. While Calathes couldn't keep up with Curry, Udrih lacked even Calathes' awareness to keep Curry in front of him.
The Grizzlies must hope that Conley, who has missed three straight games with a facial fracture, can return as soon as possible.
Conley wore a mask as he went through pregame warm-ups Sunday but informed The Commercial Appeal's Ron Tillery that he still has vision issues and feels the action moves too fast for him. The starting point guard is listed as day-to-day.
On Monday, Conley told WHBQ-TV's Peter Fleischer he believed he would be ready for the next game.
CBS Sports' Zach Harper described the Grizzlies' defensive shortcomings without Conley by saying, "With the Grizzlies having Tony Allen at their disposal but not Conley (who is a fantastic defender), it's so much tougher to dedicate the necessary defensive attention to Curry without leaving Klay Thompson and the other supporting players free to do damage."
Stopping the Splash Brothers is extremely difficult and demands the best of the "grit 'n' grind." Without all the team's leading defenders, it's almost impossible.
Ball control
The Warriors will fly in transition unless the Grizzlies point guards exercise control offensively, which is an even bigger problem (with Conley out) than the defensive matchups are.
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger discussed the team's offensive latency due to a lack of ball movement. Joerger said, "I think we just overdribbled the basketball."
This was a significant part of the Grizzlies' inability to convert possessions, as they scored 95.2 points per 100 possessions, a far cry from the 110 they produced in the first round.
Movement would improve with their starting floor general active.
Conley is a master of pace and flow, keeping the offense slow and manageable. His management and chemistry with Randolph and Gasol are major reasons why the Grizzlies were 10th in turnover rate at 12.6 percent.
Against the Blazers, the Grizzlies succeeded in avoiding mistakes, committing only 38 turnovers in five games and no more than 10 during any contest.
But the Grizzlies encounter more disciplined defenders during this round in Green and Curry.
As with his defensive shortcomings, Calathes' playoff inexperience showed in his inability to keep the Grizzlies offense flowing. Calathes committed three of Memphis' 15 turnovers. He drove into traffic in places where Conley would have found openings.
The Warriors took advantage by scoring 21 fast-break points.
Golden State led the league with a net rating of 10.2, leaving opponents with little margin for error. They went 41-5 when teams turned it over 15 times or more against them.
Their shooting efficiency doesn't afford Memphis any hope to catch breaks after making mistakes.
Hence, the Grizzlies can't simply match the Warriors in the turnover battle, as they did in the series opener; they must gain a sizable advantage in order to deflate Golden State's offensive energy while slowing down the pace.
Conclusion
The Grizzlies' best hope for slowing the Warriors down lies in riding their perimeter shooters. Tony Allen can do better in pressuring Curry and Thompson, but he can do only so much with Conley inactive.
Bringing the pace closer to something with which the Grizzlies are comfortable would help. That's attainable only if they take care of the ball.
Statistics are current through May 3 games. Unless otherwise noted, advanced metrics come from Basketball-Reference.com.
Tom Firme is a Memphis Grizzlies featured columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @TFirme.
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