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The Warriors had more cumulative salary sidelined to injury than the Memphis Grizzlies have committed to their entire roster. They had just nine active players, each of whom played.
But Golden State, led by Will Richard, Quinten Post, Brandin Podziemski, and Gui Santos, beat the Grizzlies in Memphis on the second night of a back-to-back.
In the Warriors’ 133-112 victory, a majority of players who took the floor have spent at least some time with the G-League team in Santa Cruz. Their injured list featured Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, and De’Anthony Melton, among others. Yet the team benefitted from a distressing trend across the league: clubs disincentivized to win games in anticipation of a loaded draft class.
The Warriors played well, to be sure. They turned the ball over just five times in the middle quarters, when they built an insurmountable lead that ballooned to 32. Richard snared three of Golden State’s 12 steals and Santos’ relentless drives were part of an attack that scored 58 paint points. Even two-way forward Malevy Leons provided some impactful minutes.
Eight of the nine Warriors scored in double figures, a product of the egalitarian, unselfish system coach Steve Kerr preaches.
“That’s the formula for sure,” Kerr told reporters in Memphis. “And we’ve got to continue to plug away. I’m really enjoying coaching these guys. They’ve been great. Just the energy, the enthusiasm supporting each other.”
Beating a team like the Grizzlies — who sat Ja Morant, traded away Jaren Jackson Jr. (and Desmond Bane last summer), and are playing for ping-pong balls — isn’t a grand accomplishment.
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t count. The Warriors (31-28) inched within two games of the flailing Suns for the No. 7 seed. And there’s more games like Wednesday’s to follow.
Nine of Golden State’s remaining 23 games come against tanking teams — Sacramento, Dallas, Brooklyn, Utah, Chicago, and Washington. That’s a boon for a squad that has hopes of ascending out of the play-in bracket and should get Curry back soon.
Back-to-back games at the Pelicans and Grizzlies were great chances to stay afloat. They dropped the first one in New Orleans — Curry’s eighth straight missed game — before taking advantage of Memphis. It helped that the Grizzlies didn’t play a center all game.
Especially without Curry, the Warriors are at a talent deficit. That was the case even against the Pelicans, who have lost more than 70% of their games this year (they’re not tanking because they already traded away their first-round pick).
The Warriors coughed up 20 turnovers and started 4-for-16 from the field in the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday. They missed 34 of their 45 3-point attempts, several of which either airballed or clanked off the side of the backboard.
A 20-turnover game can happen when practically everyone is forced to play a notch or two up in role. Take this play, for example:
Source: NBA.com
Santos has been excellent for weeks, stepping up his scoring output after Butler’s season-ending injury while maintaining his patented hustle. He has developed more game off the bounce with more on-ball reps, but he still isn’t a reliable pick-and-roll playmaker.
It’s just a lot to ask of Santos to make a read in such tight spaces. He doesn’t have much of a floater game or pull-up jumper in the midrange, limiting his options once Green’s screen springs him downhill. Without an easy outlet pass, Santos committed one of his six turnovers.
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Tuesday, Feb. 17
The Warriors were able to buck that dynamic in Memphis with an incredibly balanced scoring effort. Santos (17), Richard (21), Podziemski (19), Post (12), Payton (19), Moses Moody (14), Al Horford (10), and Pat Spencer (12), and each scored more than 10 points.
“It seems like it’s a theme when we’ve won,” said Podziemski, who strung together his third straight excellent performance. “Against Memphis tonight, against Denver, when we all collectively pitch in, it becomes easier for us.”
Especially without Melton, who led the team in scoring with 28 points in the Pelicans loss, the Warriors didn’t have many players capable of consistently creating advantages. They made up for it by trusting each other with extra passes and forcing Memphis’ defense to react with off-ball cuts.
They even went to Horford in the post. Because Memphis didn’t have a center active, the Grizzlies doubled him, creating a weak-side opportunity.
Source: NBA.com
That play exemplified the Warriors’ sound process as much it showcased the Grizzlies’ short-handed roster. Hardly any team will have to double-team Horford, 39, on the block.
But there are plenty more opponents that the Warriors should be able to handle. They have two remaining matchups with Sacramento, which is in pole position for the worst record in the league. They have two more games against the Wizards, who are only three games ahead of the Kings. Their next back-to-back is against the Jazz and Bulls, two franchises motivated to improve their lottery odds with losses. Dallas (March 23) and Brooklyn (March 25) are in the same boat.
Tanking is a real issue in the NBA. But the Warriors aren’t doing it, and they sure can benefit from it.
They did on Wednesday. It won’t be the last time.