National Basketball Association

Looking at how the Memphis Grizzlies match up with the Golden State Warriors

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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April 13, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) fouls Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Grizzlies 125-104. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors entered the NBA offseason having just blown a 3-1 series lead and failing to defend their NBA title. But after a disappointing ending to a record-setting season, they were looking to add more. That more would come in the form of the “Slim Reaper”, Kevin Durant. Adding Durant to what already was a “Super Team” certainly makes them look unbeatable.

The Memphis Grizzlies didn’t have the luxury of adding a superstar like Durant to their team this offseason. But coming off an injury-riddled season, they knew they had to add someone to help bring a championship to the city of Memphis. That someone ended up being the beautiful Chandler Parsons. While Parson isn’t quite the player KD is, he fills a big need for the Grizzlies’ lineup.

If the Grizzlies look to do anything extraordinary this season, they will have to go through Golden State, something Mike Conley has already publicly stated. In the next few slides we’ll look at the position match-ups, breaking them down into different categories including scoring, defense and rebounding to see how the Grizzlies will fare.

The Point Guards

Nov 11, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) drives against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in the first quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

The battle of the point guards looks to be one of the more important match-ups of the game. You have the 2-time MVP and an underpaid superstar, Stephen Curry. Then you have an arguably, somewhat overpaid star, Mike Conley. Conley is looking to prove he is worth every bit of his record setting contract while Curry is trying to make sure people remember that he is a MVP level player after a disappointing Finals. Should be a fun one.

Scoring.

This part of the breakdown should be rather simple. While Conley isn’t a bad scorer, he averaged 15.3 ppg last season to go along with a solid 36.3 percent 3-point stroke, he’s no Stephen Curry. When it comes to scoring the ball, there is no one better. Curry is a constant threat to pull up from anywhere on the court, and I mean anywhere. The 2015-2016 season saw Curry average 30 (!!!) points per game while sitting out a plethora of fourth quarters, that’s ridiculous. So while Conley can score the ball, its pretty obvious.

ADVANTAGE: Curry

Rebounding.

Most point guards aren’t elite at rebounding, unless your name happens to be Russell Westbrook, and that holds true for these two as well. While Curry averaged more rebounds last year, 5.4 rebounds per game, than Conley, 2.9 rebounds per game, he didn’t have two solid rebounding big-men to compete with. Curry had the advantage of being a part of a small ball line-up which helped boost his rebounding numbers. With the addition of Parsons, Memphis should look to run their own small-ball lineup, which should help Conley’s rebounding numbers. So for now:

ADVANTAGE: EVEN

Defense.

Now I’m going to say something that may make a few of you mad, but y’all stay with me. Here it goes: Steph Curry is overrated on defense. Before you point out that he averaged 2.1 steals a game last year, I know he did. Curry is a pretty good at picking pockets, but opposing teams like to exploit his one on one defense. That’s part of the reason Cleveland won The Finals last year. This is why Golden State likes to hide him on lesser players. While Conley isn’t an All-World defender, he more than holds his own against the Western Conference’s elite point guards. That’s something you can’t say about Curry.

ADVANTAGE: Conley

The Verdict.

With these two point guards matched up against each other, it’s sure to be a great game. With the two being almost evenly matched, I think Curry’s offensive advantage outweighs Conley’s defensive advantage.

Overall Advantage: Stephen Curry

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Shooting Guards

With the shooting guard match-up it’s quite similar to the battle of the point guards. Its going be offense versus defense, shooting versus pick pocketing. Lets see who comes out on top.

Scoring.

With scoring you couldn’t have two more opposite players. Klay Thompson is going to shoot lights out. If you don’t play him tight or give him an inch of room, he is going to make you pay. Meanwhile, you could give Tony Allen all the room in the world and he still might not sink it. It’s known that Allen’s weakness has always been his scoring ability, he has only ever averaged one double digit scoring season. Whereas Klay is known for his shooting and scoring abilities. This one was easy. ADVANTAGE: Klay Thompson

Defense.

This is where it gets interesting, Tony Allen is a stud on defense. It’s where he thrives, it’s part of the reason he is still in the league. I mean, the man has been named to three All-Defensive 1st teams. This past season, he averaged 1.7 steals per game compared to Thompson’s 0.8 steals a game. Thompson is a very solid defender, he often draws one of the opponent’s best players and he almost always holds his own. But this is where Tony Allen makes his money.

ADVANTAGE: Tony Allen

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Rebounding.

Much like the point guards, rebounding isn’t one of the stats you read much into when talking about guards, but Tony Allen and Klay Thompson are both pretty solid rebounders. This past season, Allen averaged 4.6 rebounds a game versus Thompson’s 3.8 rebounds per game. Not eye-popping numbers, but solid. The difference here is THompson averaged less rebounds per game than his fellow Splash Brother, Steph Curry, who happens to be a smaller point guard. And Tony Allen finished among the Top 10 at his position in rebounding.

ADVANTAGE: Tony Allen

The Verdict.

This is another hard one, do you value defense over offense? in my opinion Thompsons offense out weighs Allens defensive advantage. Its hard to stop Klay when he gets going, no matter how good you are on defense. You can force him into bad shots but hes going to make more of those than he misses.

Overall ADVANTAGE: Klay Thompson

Small Forwards

Mar 7, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) and forward Jeff Green (8) defend against Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons (25) during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

With the small forward position being one of the most important to fill, it’s nice to find two teams with stars at that position. Lets see whose star player is better.

Scoring.

This coming season, don’t be surprised to see Parsons offensive numbers jump to career highs. He will be one of the focal points of the offense and should get all the touches he needs to do work. But right now, this one is a no-brainer, as efficient as Parsons is on offense with his 41 percent 3-point stroke and 57.1 eFG percentage, KD is that much better. It’s really ridiculous how good Durant is on offense, the man averaged 28.2 points per game last season! He can score from anywhere on the court, no matter what you do he’s going to score. Whether he’s pulling up from deep or driving to the rim, it really isn’t fair.

ADVANTAGE: Kevin Durant

Rebounding.

Last year, KD almost averaged double-digits rebounds (8.2rpg), my guess is he averages a little less than that this year. Parsons on the other hand only averaged 4.7 rebounds a game. But with Memphis potentially trying to go small with Parsons at the 4 he should see a spike in his rebounding number. It’s pretty close but right now.

ADVANTAGE: Chandler Parsons

Defense.

This year in order for the Grizzlies to succeed Parsons has to buy into playing hard at the defensive end. His number last year were less than stellar, averaging 0.8 steals a game to go along with 0.3 blocks per game. If I had to bet Parsons buys into the “Grit n Grind” mentality and we see a spike in his defensive numbers. Durant, on the other hand, put up a solid year on the defensive end, averaging 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. With Durant’s opportunistic defensive game and the likely Parsons resurgence on that end, its pretty even. This is where the Grizzlies’ secret weapon comes in, Tony Allen. We know Allen is a beast on defense but he steps it up against Durant. I mean look at this, I’m pretty sure you can hear Durant calling him “Daddy”.

If Parsons cant get it done on the defensive end against Durant the Grizzlies then could just use Kevin’s kryptonite on.

ADVANTAGE: Parsons and the Grizzlies

The Verdict.

In the head to head matchup, its hard to pick against Durant. With his stellar offensive game to go with his solid game every where else. I do think he will put up less offensive number just due to the amount of talent on the Warriors. Parsons isn’t that far behind and it pains me to pick against such a handsome fellow, but:

Overall Advantage: Kevin Durant

Frontcourt

Nov 5, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11), forward Zach Randolph (50) and center Marc Gasol against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Grizzlies defeated the Suns 102-91. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

With the Warriors you know their strength is their backcourt. With the Grizzlies, they don’t necessarily have a bad back court, they actually have a decent one, but their strength has always been their front court bigs, Zbo and Gasol. But is it enough to thump the Warriors?

Scoring

Both Gasol and Randolph both average over 15 points per game, part of the reason it makes them so devastating. They both know how to work an opponent in the paint leading to easy scoring chances. With Draymond and his new front court pairing, Zaza, the scoring doesn’t come quite as easy. As good as Draymond was last year scoring the ball, Zaza negates all of it. Last season Zaza averaged only 8.6 points a game, which is right in line with Draymond’s career average of 8.7 points a game. No-Brainer.

ADVANTAGE: Zbo and Gasol.

Rebounding.

This one is a little closer than the scoring section. While both Randolph and Gasol are solid rebounders, averaging 7.8 and 7 rebounds a game last year respectively, Green and Zaza are just a little better. With the Warriors’ front court almost averaging 10 rebounds a game each last year, they beat the Grizzlies front court by a fraction this time.

ADVANTAGE: Draymond and Zaza

Defense.

It’s pretty hard to pick against a perennial DPOTY candidate in Draymond, even if he is paired with one of the worst defensive centers in the game. Last season Draymond averaged 1.4 steals AND blocks a game, while Zaza only managed 0.3 blocks and 0.8 steals per game. But on the Grizzlies, side you have the 2013 DPOTY, Marc Gasol, who anchors the “Grit and Grind” brand of defense. It’s close, but the pairing of Gasol and Randolph narrowly beat out Green and Zaza.

ADVANTAGE: Randolph and Gasol

The Verdict.

This one was pretty easy in my opinion, the front court of Gasol and Zbo is too much for the Warriors. The Memphis big men will exploit the hole Zaza leaves in the Warriors’ front court.

Overall Advantage: Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.

Next: The Final Verdict

April 13, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after being fouled by Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Grizzlies 125-104. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Final Verdict.

Coming into the season most people don’t give anyone a shot at beating the Warriors. Rightfully so, they’re labeled as the team to beat this year, but are they really that invincible? As I laid out for you, it’ll take a lot to beat out Golden State this year and Memphis has as good a chance as any. They have all the tools and players to exploit Golden State’s weaknesses down and the players to bother their shooters. Overall I think the season series with be a lot closer than the lopsided number people are throwing out. Realistically, the Grizzlies can split the season series with the Warriors 2-2, which is quite an accomplishment being they only lost nine times last year. With the mix of shooting the Grizzlies have now to go along with their solid front court group, the Grizzlies will be tough for anyone to beat. Don’t be surprised when the Memphis Grizzlies stun the Golden State Warriors this year, and remember where you heard it first.

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