Entering Sunday’s face-off, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies occupied the same segment of the NBA landscape. That they were two dogs sharing the same patch of brown grass on the outside of not just the Western Conference’s elite, but also the conference’s competent.
But tiers change quickly and emphatically in the NBA. This wasn’t the same Grizzlies team that the Warriors faced earlier in the year; but it was the same Warriors team.
The two teams first met on November 19, when Golden State surprisingly rolled to a 19-point victory, earning just their third victory in 15 games.