The Golden State Warriors absolutely dominated the NBA this season, posting the fourth best regular season record in league history behind the play of MVP frontrunner Stephen Curry and first year head coach Steve Kerr.
The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the several Western Conference teams that have expectations of advancing to the NBA Finals, but a late season slide dropped them to from the No. 2 seed in the West to the No. 5 seed.
Golden State won the season series 2-1 between these two teams.
Projected Starting Lineups
(1) Golden State Warriors (67-15)
G Stephen Curry – 23.8 ppg, 7.7 apg, 2.1 spg
G Klay Thompson – 21.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg
F Harrison Barnes – 10.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg
F Draymond Green – 11.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg
C Andrew Bogut – 6.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg
(5) Memphis Grizzlies (55-27)
G Mike Conley, Jr. – 15.8 ppg, 5.4 apg
G Courtney Lee – 10.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg
F Jeff Green – 13.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg
F Zach Randolph – 16.1 ppg, 10.5 rpg
C Marc Gasol – 17.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg
What to watch for:
Splash Brothers vs. Grizzlies Defense
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are undoubtedly the best backcourt in the league, and while the Warriors can hurt you from anywhere on the court, the “Splash Brothers” are the two that set the tempo for the rest of the team. Memphis has the best defense in the league and have as good of a chance at slowing Curry and Thompson down as anyone. The Grizzlies absolutely have to limit their production if they're going to have any chance in this series.
Can Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph dominate this series?
Golden State is a very versatile team, but Memphis is most successful playing a grind-it-out style that relies on their post players. Gasol and Randolph have carried the Grizzlies to the Western Conference Finals in the past by playing this style, but it puts a lot of pressure of them to control each and every game. The duo's role is enhanced because of the injury to Mike Conley, who is expected to play in this series, but we aren't sure how effective he'll be. If they can dictate the tempo of this series and slow the games down, they'll have a chance to win.
Prediction: Warriors win 4-1
Golden State looked like the dominant force we all expected them to be in the first round, and while Memphis' defense should give them some problems, the Grizzlies don't have the offensive firepower to keep up with the Warriors.
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