Memphis Grlzzies vs. Golden State Warriors: Postgame Grades and Analysis
Stephen Curry scored 22 points, Klay Thompson added 18 and the Golden State Warriors thrashed the Memphis Grizzlies, 101-86, at Oracle Arena Sunday afternoon to take a 1-0 lead in their second-round Western Conference playoff series.
The Grizzlies were without Mike Conley, who is still nursing facial injuries he suffered during Memphis' Game 5 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Warriors jumped on the Grizzlies early, taking a double-digit lead in the first quarter. Memphis closed to within seven to end the period and was within nine at halftime, but Golden State took over in the second half.
The Warriors led by as many as 20 over the final 24 minutes, holding the Grizzlies to just 34 second-half points.
Dubs head coach Steve Kerr was happy overall, but as most coaches do, he still thinks his team needs to improve on things. In this case, it was his ball club's 16 turnovers, per the Warriors' official Twitter feed:
Marreese Speights loved the noise the crowd brought, per the Warriors' Twitter feed:
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger liked his team's off-the-ball action, but he also feels they are going to need to shoot the ball better from the outside, per Katina Rankin of Local 24 in Memphis:
Golden State shot 51 percent and made 13 of its 28 three-point attempts.
Memphis made 45 percent of its shots and went just 3-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 21 points.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at Oracle Arena at 10:30 p.m. ET. Catch the action on TNT.
| Marc Gasol | A |
| Zach Randolph | A- |
| Tony Allen | B+ |
| Jeff Green | D |
| Courtney Lee | C- |
| Rest of Team | F |
| Stephen Curry | A- |
| Klay Thompson | B+ |
| Draymond Green | B+ |
| Andrew Bogut | C |
| Harrison Barnes | A- |
| Rest of Team | B+ |
Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol: A
Gasol put forth a heck of an effort.
The center continues to live at the free-throw line in the playoffs, as he went 11-of-12 from the charity stripe in Game 1. He also went an efficient 5-of-10 from the floor, getting position down low and making turn-around jumpers over smaller defenders.
Gasol finished with 21 points and nine rebounds and even recorded three steals.
He needs to maintain that level of assertiveness.
Zach Randolph: A-
Zach Randolph was terrific in the loss.
The big man threw his weight around inside, dropping 20 points off 9-of-15 shooting and using an array of post moves to score almost at will when he touched the ball.
Randolph also made some great passes out of the low box, and that reflected on his stat sheet with his five assists.
He hauled in nine boards, as well.
The problem is, most of Z-Bo's damage came in the first half.
Tony Allen: B+
Tony Allen was solid.
Known mainly as a defensive ace, the wing scored 15 points off 6-of-11 shooting, making some nice basket cuts and finishing layups.
As always, Allen gave maximum effort, chasing after 50-50 balls and fighting for positioning.
Defensively, he was impressive, keeping a body on Thompson most of the afternoon and fighting around screens.
Jeff Green: D
Jeff Green was invisible for most of this one.
He missed five of his first six shots, settling for mid-range jumpers and seldom attacking the rim in the first half. He got a bit more aggressive over the final 24 minutes, but by then, it was too late.
Green finished with nine points off a 4-of-9 clip, dishing out four assists and committing three turnovers in 27 minutes.
Courtney Lee: C-
Courtney Lee was not nearly as effective in Game 1 as he was against the Blazers.
The wing wasn't terrible in terms of shooting the basketball, going 4-of-9, but he missed a couple of easy looks and had a rough go of it defensively.
The Grizzlies tried putting him on Stephen Curry for stretches in the first half, but that did not work out too well.
Lee posted a minus-15. He scored nine points.
Rest of Team: F
Memphis got next to nothing from the rest of its squad.
Beno Udrih scored seven points off 3-of-7 shooting. Otherwise, Vince Carter went 1-of-7, Nick Calathes went 0-of-4 and Kosta Koufos grabbed four rebounds in six minutes.
This was just an unacceptable performance for the Grizzlies' role players. If Memphis wants to have any chance in this series, these guys have to play better.
Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry: A-
Curry did not put up huge numbers in the win, but he was still outstanding.
The top-flight MVP candidate went for 22 points off 8-of-18 shooting, going 4-of-8 from three-point range. However, it was when he made his buckets that counted.
All four of Curry's triples were back-breakers, wasting good defensive possessions for Memphis and extending the Warriors' lead.
He also made some fancy passes, dishing out seven assists. Plus, he collected four steals.
Klay Thompson: B+
Thompson had a good afternoon shooting the rock, making eight of his 16 shots and going 2-of-5 from long range.
What was most impressive about Thompson's outing, however, was how he distributed the basketball.
He did an incredible job passing out of drives, finding open teammates underneath the basket for easy buckets. That resulted in Thompson tallying six assists in addition to his 18 points.
He was a bit sloppy at times, recording four turnovers, but for the most part, Thompson played his part very well.
Draymond Green: B+
Draymond Green got off to an incredible start, hitting three triples and scoring 11 of his 16 points in the first quarter.
He did a tremendous job of setting the tone early, spreading the floor and sending the Grizzlies defense scrambling.
Green ended up shooting 5-of-11 from the floor, going 4-of-8 from downtown.
On the other end, Green struggled defensively, as the size and strength of Randolph and Gasol was clearly a handful for the stocky 6'7" forward. There were times when Green made Gasol catch the ball far away from the basket, though, so that was good.
Andrew Bogut: C
Andrew Bogut had a rather difficult afternoon.
He was in foul trouble much of the game, having some difficulty defending Gasol and Randolph in the post. He fouled out in 24 minutes and wasn't able to make a significant impact on either end of the floor.
Bogut finished with four points and six rebounds.
Harrison Barnes: A-
Harrison Barnes was effective.
He scored 11 points off a perfect 4-of-4 clip, staying patient and taking good shots. He also hustled all over the floor, going after loose rebounds and battling the Memphis bigs above the rim.
Kerr praised Barnes after the game, per Let's Go Warriors:
Barnes only grabbed three boards, but his impact on the glass was undeniable. He helped keep a couple of balls alive.
Rest of Team: B+
Speights was great off the bench, tallying 10 points off 4-of-6 shooting. He also pulled down five boards and was aggressive in his 13 minutes.
Andre Iguodala was solid as well. While he did not shoot the ball well (3-of-9), he grabbed five rebounds, played good defense and helped get Golden State going in transition.
Finally, Leandro Barbosa and Festus Ezeli chipped in six and four points, respectively. Barbosa's ability to penetrate certainly paid dividends for the Dubs.
