Preview: Hobbled Warriors look for revenge against Grizzlies

The Golden State Warriors are set to take on the Memphis Grizzlies in Chase Center without Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Andre Iguodala, Damion Lee and James Wiseman.

That’s not a good thing, as the Grizzlies have been a consistent thorn in Golden State’s side in recent contests. Memphis knocked the Warriors out of the play-in tournament last year in a jarring defeat. The Grizzlies also dealt the Dubs their first loss of this 2021-2022 season, a 104-101 defeat that was...jarring as well.

Since then both teams have clawed out winning records in the West; the Dubs are 25-6 and the Grizz are 19-13. Golden State is second in the NBA in steals at 9.3; Memphis leads the league in steals per game at 10.4, which does not bode well for Golden State’s turnover heavy offense.

The last time they squared off, Memphis forced Golden State into 22 turnovers. Our guy Joe Viray scooped this quote from GSW Coach Steve Kerr regarding that dilemma:

“We just got a little crazy out there,” Steve Kerr said after the game. “Give them credit... they came in and dug in, played defense and forced some of those turnovers. But a lot of them were unforced. That’s been one of our goals preseason, all camp, all early part of the season, to cut our turnovers down to a really reasonable number, that 12-13 range (per game). We’ve only been able to do that once out of the five games.

“It’s a good lesson for us. We’ve got to learn from it. It’s early in the season, and I’m confident that we will learn and we’ll get better.”

We’ll see if the Dubs can control the rock with limited players on deck.

Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies

December 23rd, 2021 | 7:00 PT

Watch: NBC Sports Bay Area | Listen: 95.7 The Game