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Well that was a lot of fun. The Golden State Warriors put together quite a shocking performance, dominating the Memphis Grizzlies without Steph Curry, James Wiseman, or Eric Paschall.
They seemed to do everything well. Does that include our pregame keys to victory? Let’s find out.
Small success
The key: Win the small ball minutes since James Wiseman and Eric Paschall are out.
The outcome: With Wiseman out, Kevon Looney was the Warriors only center. Looney excelled, with one of his better performances of the year: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, and 5-for-6 shooting.
Yet while Looney was strong, it’s telling that the Warriors were outscored by 3 points in his minutes, yet outscored Memphis by 24 points in Draymond Green’s minutes.
That’s not a knock on Looney who, again, excelled. It’s just a sign that going small worked really well for the Dubs.
Grading the key: 9 out of 10.
Limit Ja
The key: Keep Ja Morant from getting easy buckets at the rim.
The outcome: On the whole, the Warriors kept Morant at bay. The electric young point guard had 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting, with 2 assists to 6 turnovers. Four of Morant’s six buckets came at the rim, but the Warriors still kept him from getting there regularly.
Grading the key: 7 out of 10.
Clean the glass
The key: Don’t get killed on the glass.
The outcome: Despite being the smaller team, the Warriors only barely lost the rebounding battle, 46-43. And they only lost the offensive rebounding battle 9-8.
The Dubs won’t be a great rebounding team with this roster, but if they can keep it that close, they can win any game.
Grading the key: 8.5 out of 10.
Wing help
The key: If Steph Curry doesn’t play: A big night from Andrew Wiggins or Kelly Oubre Jr.
The outcome: Oubre didn’t have a great game, but he gets a pass. He was listed as doubtful before on Thursday, and by all accounts seems to have gutted through discomfort to keep the Warriors from being too shorthanded. And while he wasn’t doing much on offense, he did have a good defensive showing.
As for Wiggins? Well he just casually had his best game as a Warrior, with 40 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals, on 14-for-24 shooting. It’s exactly what the Warriors needed with Curry out.
Grading the key: 9 out of 10.
What a game. Well done, Dubs.