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All of the pieces are in place for round two of the NBA playoffs, and the Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies series begins Sunday. The Dubs will be on the road for the first two games, with plans to return home to the Bay Area with at least one victory. It won't be easy, but finishing their first-round series faster than Ja Morant’s Grizzlies will help.
The regular season record between the two teams was 3-1 in favor of the Grizzlies. It's the second consecutive playoff opponent the Warriors had a losing record against during the regular season.
Here are three bold predictions for the highly anticipated second-round series between Memphis and Golden State.
3 bold Warriors predictions for Western Conference Semifinals vs. Grizzlies
Draymond Green and Gary Payton II will make life hard on Memphis
We all know the old saying offense wins games and defense wins championships. Well, that applies to winning a playoff series, too. In Jordan Poole, The Warriors have found a third wheel to add to the Splash Brothers, and it will help them win some games against Memphis. But eliminating this young, hungry group will require some exceptional defense.
If you're looking for exceptional defense, there's no need to look far when Draymond Green is on the team. But it will take more than the all-time great defender and his extremely versatile skill set. The son of another Hall-of-Fame defender, Gary Payton II, will play a huge role this round.
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Memphis is going to be a tough matchup for the Warriors. If the Dubs come out on top of this series, they will need Green and Payton II to be on the top of their game. My first bold prediction is these two will make it a long series for Morant.
Steph Curry outplays Ja Morant
All eyes will be on these two stars. Stephen Curry is a living legend who's seen it and done it all. Then there's Morant, the new kid on the block. He brings a new swagger to the game and has the skills to go with it. This battle is a series in itself. No matter which team wins the series, spectators will use this matchup to decide where Morant’s place is among elite point guards.
Curry is at the top of the food chain to many, and it’s safe to assume he likes it there. But Morant’s third year has been all about making a statement. He craves to be the best, and he understands dethroning Curry could put him in that conversation.
My second bold prediction of this series is it won't be any passing of the torch. Curry will have another incredible series. The two-time MVP will display to the world that Morant is very gifted but isn't on the same level as him.
Warriors advance to Conference Finals
The Grizzlies beat the Warriors in three of these teams' four matchups during the regular season, but the playoffs are a different animal. Not only will these games be a different kind of competition, but Morant’s crew is also playing an unfamiliar team.
In the first meeting, the Grizzlies won at Chase Center in an overtime thriller, a game played without Klay Thompson. In the second game, the Warriors took care of business and gained a victory. The third matchup was Thompson's second game back from his two-year hiatus, another hard-fought Warriors loss. The final meeting of the season was a blowout in which Curry, Green, and Thompson didn't play.
A few things have changed for the Warriors in recent weeks. Thompson is back healthy and playing at an All-Star level. Poole busted back onto the scene as the scoring threat opponents have to gameplan for, Green is fully healthy and Curry rediscovered the shooting touch that he'd missed for most of the regular season.
These changes, along with the Dubs’ experience, are reasons why I think the Warriors will have no issue with winning the series. This brings us to my last revelation of this series: The Warriors will defeat the Memphis Grizzlies in six games.
