The Memphis Grizzlies and Ja Morant sent Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors home in the play-ins last season.
Now, the Warriors, who are still undefeated at 4-0, will be looking for a small measure of revenge. Will they win at home in San Francisco? Catch this game live on October 29, at 10:30 AM, Manila time.
Away: Memphis Grizzlies (2-2, 1-2 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Ja Morant
- SG: De’Anthony Melton
- SF: Desmond Bane
- PF: Jaren Jackson Jr.
- C: Steven Adams
Ja Morant came back down to earth a bit after his monster game against the Lakers, which ended in a close loss. In the Grizzlies’ second-straight defeat, this time at the hands of the Blazers, Morant had 17 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists, but also had 9 turnovers in the blowout 116-96 loss. That shouldn’t deter him, though, as he’s the kind of player to shrug it off and bring his best again the very next night.
De’Anthony Melton will need to bounce back, though, as he had 0 points for the first time this season after bricking all of his shots. He had previously scored 20, 22, and 13 points before the Blazers game.
Desmond Bane may need to get involved more in the offense too, as his 19 points led the way for the Grizzlies against Portland. He shot 7 of 12 and will be relied on for more points against a Warrior squad that boasts good scorers in both their starting five and their bench.
Jaren Jackson Jr. also had an off night and went 3 of 13 from the field on the way to 7 points, while Steven Adams went 2 of 8 and scored 4 points. Both of them only saw 18 minutes of action against the Blazers so they should have some fresh legs. In fact, Morant is the only one who broke 30 minutes.
Adams, in particular, may have to get it going early as there’s no one on the Warriors squad who can match his sheer strength. Golden State thrive when presented with second chance points, so his rebounding is going to be important. However, his minutes may also be affected by how often the Dubs play with a smaller and faster lineup.
The Grizzlies are 3-1 against the spread and 3-1 on the over/under so far.
Home: Golden State Warriors (4-0, 1-0 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Steph Curry
- SG: Jordan Poole
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Draymond Green
- C: Kevon Looney
The Warriors are 4-0, but none of their games have been particularly easy. What they’ve shown in their opening run is determination and the ability to capitalize off of their opponents mistakes down the stretch. As the veteran team heading into the game, they’ll be able to rely on that instinct against the Grizzlies, but that’s assuming Steph Curry doesn’t go off.
Curry is currently averaging 29.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 6.3 APG. He’s still been deadly from three, shooting 40%, but his overall field goal percentage is sitting at 43.4%. He was still able to put up 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in their most recent game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but hasn’t been as efficient as last season, where he shot 48.2% from the field overall.
Still, the Warriors are getting 14.3 PPG or more from three players: Andrew Wiggins (16.8 PPG), Jordan Poole (15.3 PPG) and Damion Lee (14.3 PPG). They have capable secondary scorers to complement Curry plus the presence of players like Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr. Andre Iguodala, even as an older player, can still impact games in limited minutes, so the Warriors have a fairly toolkit to tinker with against the Grizzlies.
This season’s been a weird one for everyone so far, but the Warriors have a lot of things going for them heading into this Memphis game. The Warriors are 2-2 against the spread so far and 1-3 on the over/under.
PREDICTION:
Spread: The Warriors will be fresh while the Grizzlies are on the second day of a back-to-back. I’m going with Golden State to cover -5.5
Over/Under: The Grizzlies may be tired, but they’re also one of the youngest teams in the league. Their pace shouldn’t slow down that much so take the over 233.
