Memphis Grizzlies Aren’t Intimidated By Stephen Curry

After the Memphis Grizzlies were thoroughly trounced by the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals by a final of 101-86, most people had written them off. The word “sweep” was being used a lot and honestly, the Grizzlies didn’t look like a team that would prove them wrong.

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So the return of injured point guard Mike Conley for Game 2 couldn’t have come at a better time. Conley, who was only eight days removed from facial surgery to repair injuries suffered during the previous series against the Portland Trail Blazers, practically willed himself into the lineup and, wearing a protective mask, showed everyone why no one should count the Grizzlies out just yet.

Between the return of Conley and Memphis’ defense coming back to life, the Grizzlies beat the Warriors by a final of 97-90 to even the series at 1-1. But not only did they beat the Warriors, they did it at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors have been unstoppable this season, only losing two games all year.

Conley scored 22 points on the night and Zach Randolph added another 20 while Marc Gasol and Courtney Lee each scored 15. The Warriors shot just 41.9 percent and only 23.1 percent from the three-point line, a victim of the Grizzlies smothering defense.

Grizzlies forward Tony Allen, who effectively took the Warriors’ Klay Thompson out of the game, also may have given Conley a new nickname to go by for the rest of the playoffs.

More than that, Conley, Allen and the Grizzlies also showed the rest of the world that the Warriors can be beaten.

Right before tipoff, Stephen Curry received his MVP trophy from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a brief ceremony. It was just one more accolade in a season that saw Curry average 23.8 points, 7.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.

It has gotten to the point that just having to play Curry and the Warriors is enough to get into the heads of most teams, especially when they play at Oracle Arena.

But apparently the Grizzlies aren’t most teams.

When it was announced that Curry had won the MVP award, most of his fellow players around the NBA talked about how well deserved it is and what makes Curry such a good player. Then they asked Tony Allen about it and he said the following to Nate Stuhlbarg of CSN Bay Area.com:

"“He can shoot the ball pretty good and he got a nice handle. But it ain’t nothing I ain’t never seen before.”"

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That, in a nutshell, is why the Grizzlies have a real chance to win this series now that Conley is back. They never back down and aren’t going to be intimidated by the Legend of Stephen Curry. They aren’t going to allow him to get into their collective heads and know that, if they play their game, they can win the Western semifinals.

It also helps that no one gave the Grizzlies much of a chance in this series from the opening tip of Game 1, so Memphis doesn’t have the weight of expectations on their back, unlike Curry and the Warriors.

In Game 2 the Grizzlies demonstrated that with their star point guard back and a stifling defense that can shut down an opponent’s ability to score, they can beat anyone in the NBA, MVP or no MVP.

Saturday the series heads to Memphis for Game 3.

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