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The Memphis Grizzlies are onto the second round of the NBA playoffs after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and the young Grizzlies won the franchise's first playoff series since 2015 and are now matching up with the Golden State Warriors this afternoon.
Memphis will be tested very harshly by the Warriors. They have a lot more playoff experience and, when healthy, looked every bit as unbeatable as the Grizzlies did in the regular season. Memphis owned the regular season head-to-head matchups, though, beating Golden State in three of the four contests.
The Grizzlies will have a very tough time taking down the Warriors. Regardless of whether they succeed in advancing to the next round, they will put up a strong fight.
3 bold Grizzlies predictions for 2022 Western Conference Semifinals vs Warriors
Ja Morant leads the series in scoring
Ja Morant, who averaged just 21.5 points per game in the first round of the NBA playoffs, will have a harder time scoring against Draymond Green and the Warriors. But he will also be asked to do more against a stronger foe. This may lead to Morant posting an outsized share of the Grizzlies' scoring.
The Warriors can depend on Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins to score reliably. Morant and Bane are the only Grizzlies who are dependable — or at least expected to be. The Grizzlies, of course, start and end with their All-Star guard.
Since the Grizzlies love running in transition and the Warriors cough the ball up an awful lot, Morant should get plenty of opportunities to score in the open court. While he will also look to get the rock to the teammates that run with him, he is not one to turn down an opportunity to throw down a dunk.
If Morant isn't the Grizzlies' leading scorer, it will likely be Bane, who averaged 23.5 points in the first round. Speaking of the sharpshooting guard…
Desmond Bane drops 40 points in a game
With seemingly most of Golden State's defensive attention going to Morant, Desmond Bane should have room to fire away from deep. In at least one of those games, he will catch fire and go off for 40 points.
Bane put up a 34-point performance against Minnesota and fired up eight attempts from beyond the 3-point arc in all but one of the six games. His confidence is growing and his shooting will be needed against a team with so many perimeter threats.
Not only will Bane get room to shoot but he should also get space to go to his pull-up shot. He knows how to use the threat of his shot to open up more space. If Curry or Poole match up with him, he can take advantage of his size and get to his spots.
The Brandon Clarke-Jaren Jackson Jr. frontcourt sees a lot of minutes
Against the Timberwolves, four of the five best two-man pairings (according to plus-minus) for the Grizzlies featured Bane. The only one that didn't include him was the big-man tandem of Clarke and Jackson. This stat indicates that the Grizz might have something with them in the frontcourt.
The Warriors will throw out smaller lineups frequently and Memphis should counter with Jackson and Clarke. While Jackson provides versatile defense and shooting, Clarke has been a menace on the glass (especially in the NBA playoffs) and a strong defender in his own right.
In the first round, Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins tried three different players alongside Jackson in the starting backcourt (Steven Adams, Kyle Anderson and Xavier Tillman). Clarke is the right man for the job because he brings the switchability on defense and interior presence on offense.
