Back to the future: Warriors vs. Grizzlies 2

The Golden State Warriors dropped a tough one on Saturday night, falling 111-103 to the Memphis Grizzlies, and splitting the baseball series in the process.

But how did they do with their pregame keys to victory? Let’s revisit them and find out.

Make it rain

The key: Make more threes than the Grizzlies, and make them at a higher percentage.

The outcome: It wasn’t a good night beyond the arc for the Dubs, who had only two players shoot 50% or better from distance: Nico Mannion (1-for-2) and Juan Toscano-Anderson (3-for-5).

Still, they hit on the key, making 13 triples to Memphis’ 10, and knocking them in at a clip of 31.7%, slightly better than the Grizzlies’ mark of 31.3%.

Those aren’t good numbers, so this key was clearly won by the defense, not the offense.

Still counts.

Grading the key: 7.5 out of 10.

Be in control

The key: Dictate the flow and pace of the game.

The outcome: You know how the Grizzlies motto is “grit and grind?” The game was slow and ugly. It was a battle to get to 100 points. Neither team shot 40% from the field.

It was the epitome of both grit and grind, and while the Warriors were up for the challenge, they were also out of their element.

Grading the key: 3 out of 10.

Strong ball movement

The key: Limit the turnovers and maximize the assists.

The outcome: A day after having 31 assists, the Dubs had just 23 on Saturday, against 11 turnovers. That’s not a bad turnover number, but the ball movement that the Warriors rely on simply wasn’t there.

Grading the key: 4 out of 10.

Find a scorer

The key: A strong individual offensive game or two.

The outcome: Jordan Poole had another nice game, shooting 10-for-21 en route to 26 points. But beyond that, it’s hard to find performances of note. Andrew Wiggins had 20 points, but shot just 4-for-14 from the field (though he was 10-for-12 from the free throw line). Toscano-Anderson and Mannion had nice bench performances, but played limited roles.

It’s great seeing Poole continue playing so well, but it’s just not enough.

Grading the key: 3.5 out of 10.

A difficult loss, but still a lot of things to like.