Memphis Grizzlies: Adjustments To Win Game 2

Everyone knew it was going to be an uphill battle for the Memphis Grizzlies to beat the Golden State Warriors in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals. Golden State is peaking at just the right time with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson playing some inspired basketball and the Warriors looking like nothing can stop them from a trip to the NBA Finals.

Memphis went into Game 1 without starting point guard Mike Conley, who is recovering from surgery to repair broken bones in his face, and gave Nick Calathes the start. It was thought that if Memphis could control the tempo and slow down the Warriors while giving their celebrated defense a chance to make plays, they might have a chance to come away from Game 1 with a win.

Turns out, that thinking was way off.

The Grizzlies were outplayed and out hustled as they lost to the Warriors by a final of 101-86. Golden State was in control almost from the opening tip, demonstrating exactly why they only lost two games at home during the entire 2014-15 season.

The Warriors practically scored at will all afternoon, shooting 50.6 percent, including 46.4 percent from beyond the arc (13-of-28) and led by as much as 20 points. Their defense allowed the Grizzlies to score only 14 points in the third quarter and 34 in the entire second half. Curry finished the day with 22 points while Thompson scored 18.

Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 21 points and nine boards and Zach Randolph added another 20 as well as nine rebounds, but it wasn’t even close to enough. The Memphis bench was totally ineffective while Calathes looked lost at times trying to cover Curry. For that matter, the entire Grizzlies defense, the thing that got them to where they are this season, seemed to spontaneously forget how to guard the perimeter and allowed Curry to do things like this:

You aren’t going to beat a team as good as the Warriors by allowing things like that to happen.

Fortunately, this was only Game 1 and the Grizzlies have time to try to adapt and find a way to beat the Warriors. But short of Conley making his return (which could happen as early as Game 3) how exactly do they do that?

It comes down to two things: better shooting and slowing down the tempo.

Calathes and Vince Carter shot a combined 1-for-11 on the afternoon. That cannot continue like that if they want to have a chance to win Game 2. Calathes especially needs to figure out what he is doing wrong and correct it if he is going to be the starting point guard for the duration of this series. Coming away with a stat line that reads zero points, two assists and one rebound is just not going to cut it.

Jeff Green was only marginally better, scoring nine on the afternoon on 4-of-9 shooting. The Grizzlies as the whole shot 3-for-12 from the three-point line and 45.2 percent from the field, which is not going to beat the Warriors on a bad day.

To give the Grizzles a better opportunity to make shots, it is imperative they slow down the pace in Game 2. Memphis is known as a team that controls the tempo and makes opponents play at the speed they want. That didn’t happen on Sunday afternoon as the Warriors ran the court at their usual breakneck pace, which was good for 21 fast break points.

Part of this is due to the loss of Conley, who does such a great job for Memphis at setting the tempo of a game, but now it needs to become a team effort. Memphis needs to make the Warriors play at the speed they desire and not let Golden State dictate the pacing.

Of course, even if the Grizzlies manage to accomplish both of these things, there is still a good chance they won’t be able to beat the Warriors. They are just too good and Memphis misses the skills of Conley too much. But that’s why they play the games.

Game 2 is Tuesday at Golden State.

Next: 2015 NBA Playoffs: First Round Winners And Losers

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What The Memphis Grizzlies Need To Adjust To Win Game 2

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