SAN FRANCISCO – Here they come, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Mouths of the South, swaggering into Chase Center on Christmas Day, flapping their gums and flexing their record, daring the homestanding Warriors to retaliate.
And the only defense the Warriors can offer is a nod to the past, to the NBA championship rings they received two months ago and their clinical dispatching of the Grizzlies in the Western Conference semifinals five months before that.
That’s because Memphis is living at or near the top of the conference, while Golden State – which will be without Stephen Curry until at least mid-January – is fighting to get back to .500.
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SIGN UP HERE The Warriors have a lot of house to fix, and it’s too much work to complete in one game. So, they’re taking the long view – even beyond this eight-game homestand – because that’s the one that affords a modicum of optimism.
“It’s very important – but the next 40 games after that are really important, too,” coach Steve Kerr says of the span of games at Chase Center. “I don’t think this is a make-or-break moment in the season. We’re not too far away from the rest of the pack in the West. We know that we’re going to eventually have to kick it into gear and get on a run.
“But with Steph out, that’s a big challenge.”
Kerr’s understatement is both timely and tactical. It’s an effort to minimize this game while also implying that the Warriors’ problems need weeks, if not months, to solve. If they are solved at all.
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This game is the launchpad to what they hope will be 17 days of repair, recovery, and rebuttal. It’s the first Warriors-Grizzlies meeting since that highly charged six-game series, during which a rivalry was hatched. It’s the brash youngsters against the decorated vets, though absences of Andrew Wiggins and Curry reduces the significance.
And now Draymond Green, who practiced earlier this week, is listed as questionable with a soreness in his right foot. Regardless of his status on Sunday, he expects no pity.
“They’re still going to try beat us by 40,” Green says, “and we’re still going to try to beat them by 40.”
The Grizzlies are feeling themselves because they’re trending up. They finished last season second in the West, three games ahead of the Warriors, and they’ll be six games in front of the defending champs when the ball tips off on Sunday.
So confident are the Grizzlies that star guard Ja Morant says he’s not worried about intraconference competition, dismissing the fact that they have lost five of the last seven games against the Warriors. Memphis wing Dillon Brooks, who usually tracks Curry, says he wants Klay Thompson.
“I got Klay,” he told reporters last week. “I like that matchup better, because he was talking a little smack when we lost.”
This is who the Grizzlies are, a very good assemblage of personnel with a propensity to lead with their tongues. They have a particular fondness for targeting the Warriors.
“There’s a lot of respect,” Kerr says. “And with respect, comes the chirping. It’s great for the fans. It’s great for both franchises to be in the position that we’re in. They’ve been on the rise the last couple years. And we’re hoping to keep our run going.”
That will be a high mountain to climb. The injuries are one factor, a big one, but so is the roster still in the development stage. Court chemistry tends to vanish when the Curry-Green-Thompson core is off the floor.
Memphis, by contrast, has an established core. And with the return of shooting guard Desmond Bane, the rotation is back to full health. The average age of the starting five is 25, with an average of five seasons of NBA experience.
“They got the same team, for the most part,” Green says, recalling the playoff series in May. “You definitely can pull some things from that. But they’re a year older. With being a year older, there’s more confidence. There’s more know-how. Ja is way better, which is crazy to keep saying, but he keeps getting better.”
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When this game was scheduled for Christmas Day, there is no doubt which team circled it in Sharpie. The Warriors have what the Grizzlies want – and believe they can take. This game means more to Memphis.
For the Warriors, it’s a matter of protecting their home court. If they can, it might – might – represent a step forward. If they can’t, well, it won’t mean much at all.