Memphis vs Golden St - 4.4.08

Memphis just completed their second season sweep of the year and now try to prevent Golden St from sweeping them for the 1st time since the team's inaugural season in Vancouver. The Grizzlies righted their ship too late to make the playoffs and too early to remain at the bottom of the lottery list. Basically the worst of both possible outcomes but with the lottery you never know what will happen so does losing actually accomplish anything but a negative attitude? The Grizzlies are playing .500 ball over the last 10 games with wins over the Lakers, New York twice, Sacramento and Charlotte. Not exactly the cream of the crop outside of LA but still something the team can use to build on.

Golden State has dropped out of the playoffs with back to back losses at San Antonio (116-92) and at Dallas (111-86) and will be playing their 3rd game in 4 days. There may be an emotional drop after being the first team with a record above .500 to lose to Dallas since the Jason Kidd trade. After this game the Warriors head to Conference leading New Orleans so this game has to be considered a must win for the the Warriors if they want to make the playoffs.

Point Guards: Mike Conley vs Baron Davis
Mike Conley has been having better games lately but still hasn't shown a capability to string them together. In his last four games Conley scored 6, 17, 2 and 18 points. Tonight would be an excellent time to reverse that trend. Baron Davis brings the total package into this game and has been healthy for the entire season. Averaging 22.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 7.6 apg, Baron Davis has become one of the elite PG's in the league. While his shooting can be suspect at times (43.2% from the field, 33.1% from the arc) he is still the player that Golden St turns to for big baskets.
Advantage: Golden St

Shooting Guards: Mike Miller vs Monta Ellis
Mike Miller has been struggling lately scoring the ball with a total of 37 pts combined in the last four games and has failed to break 20 pts in a game since scoring 34 pts at Madison Square Gardens against the Knicks on March 21. That span of 7 games is the longest that Mike has failed to score at least 20 pts since going 7 straight from Dec 21-Jan 4. Monta Ellis is a free agent this summer and playing like he wants a big contract this summer. The Mississippi native is averaging just under 20 ppg (19.9) on 52.9% shooting from the field. Not a great perimeter shooter (25%) Ellis relies on speed and a quick release to get his shot off over taller SGs.
Advantage: Golden St

Small Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Stephen Jackson
Rudy Gay is back on top of his game after struggling with the lead role a bit after the Gasol trade. Rudy has emerged as a candidate for Most Improved Player in the league this year. Rudy is among the top 40 in the league in both 3 pt shots made and dunks. The only other player on both lists is Kobe Bryant. Stephen Jackson has to be one of the stranger team captains in the league. Formerly considered a malcontent in San Antonio, Atlanta and Indiana, Jackson usually guards the toughest opponent and that has had an effect on the notoriously streaky shooters accuracy this season. Barely shooting over 40% from the field (40.7%) he makes it up with clutch long range accuracy (37.6%) and a tough mental attitude. It is strength against strength in this game but Jackson has not been playing well on this road trip.
Advantage: Memphis

Power Forwards: Hakim Warrick vs Al Harrington
It is not for certain that Harrington will start this game but that is the norm for Don Nelson coached teams. Harrington has been a disappointment this season after his strong play last year after the trade with Indiana. Across the board his numbers are down this season. Hakim Warrick has been a major surprise for the Grizzlies since the Gasol trade, nearly replicating Gasol's offensive numbers while spreading team's defenses to cover his better range. His defense has improved mostly by the Grizzlies option to play zone defense more to cover for Hak.
Advantage: Memphis

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Andris Biedrens
Darko injured his shoulder against the Knicks but is said to be playing tonight against the Warriors. That is important because Biedrins is the Warriors secret weapon. He is quick to loose balls and offensive boards and has enough speed to be a threat on breaks for the lightning fast Warriors. Darko was playing some of the most consistent ball of the season prior to the injury so everyone is hoping it wasn't anything serious.
Advantage: Golden St

Benches: Memphis vs Golden St
Memphis has a 1-2-3 punch off the bench with Lowry, Navarro and Crittenton combining to add pace and athleticism to the bench. When they are shooting well they cause a lot of teams matchup problems. The Warriors counter with size off the bench from the likes of Michael Pietrus, Kelanna Azubuike and Matt Barnes. The retirement of Chris Webber has no effect on the Warriors. Brandon Wright has yet to show the ability to play the NBA game and may be joining Patrick O'Bryant who is a bust as a lottery pick from 3 years ago.
Advantage: Golden St

Relevant Blogs/Commentary:
Golden State Of Mind
The City
Warriors World

Postgame Thoughts: Memphis at Golden State 3.15.08

Well, the Grizzlies finally showed up for a full game, which was a nice change. Even though they got down by as much as 17 points, they were still within striking distance going into the last minute of the game. After a string of blowout losses, this was a very entertaining game for fans of both teams, although I'm sure Warriors' fans wanted an easier night after coming off a tough loss to Phoenix.

Let's take a quick look at how the Grizzlies did last night.

Mike Miller - I don't know what exactly it is, but Miller absolutely thrives when playing in Oracle Arena. He posted 19 pts, 13 reb and 6 ast in 38 minutes last night. His perimeter shot wasn't falling like it normally does (1/5), but he still managed to shoot over 50% from the field. He was also one of three Grizzlies to post a positive +/- rating on the night.

Kyle Lowry - I'll admit that I was absolutely dumbfounded when Kyle came out in the starting lineup alongside Mike Conley. But Kyle was a whirlwind of energy all night and kept Memphis in the game with his intensity and toughness. He had 5 assists and 5 steals with only 3 turnovers to go with his 12 points scored and was a big reason that the Grizzlies didn't just give up in the second half.

Hakim Warrick - Hak held his own against a bigger, stronger opponent while matched up with Andris Biedrins as he got the start at C with the foot injury that sidelined Darko Milicic. He led all scorers with 23 points and chipped in 7 boards, 1 assist and 3 steals as well.

Juan Carlos Navarro - JCN is a scorer. Last night he scored very efficiently, tallying 20 points on only 11 FG attempts. That's something everyone would love to see more of from the Spaniard.

Passing lane defense - The Grizzlies finished the game with 15 steals as the 6 players receiving the most playing time all recorded at least one. That's how you stay with a team that plays at a frenetic pace like the Warriors.

Rudy Gay - Even though he had a great night statistically (20 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), you could tell that his hamstring injury was still bothering him as he didn't have his usual level of explosiveness. Hopefully, he won't push too hard and aggravate the injury.

Mike Conley - He looked like a rookie PG.....which is what he is. He struggled to cover the bigger Warriors he was matched up against on defense, but given what Baron and Monta have been doing to all opponents this year, I don't think that he played poorly at all.

Brian Cardinal - 8 points and 8 rebounds in under 18 minutes of PT?!?! Really? Maybe BC just wanted to remind Golden State fans what they were missing out on now that he is in Beale Street Blue. Yeah....I'm sure that's what it was.

3-point shooting - They shot 40% from beyond the arc (6/15), which ain't too shabby.

Assists - For the first time in a long time, half of their FG makes were assisted, as they recorded 20 assists on 40 made FG's.

They also kept the rebounding margin closer than expected (-3), won the turnover battle (+6) and even took (and hit!) more FT's than their opponent (21/29 to 18/26). In short, they did everything right except come away with the win. That should be a big positive for this young team and will hopefully lead to better play for the rest of the regular season.

Memphis at Golden State - 3.15.08

Golden State of Mind wanted our thoughts on the Grizzlies in the post-Gasol era and, as always, we were more than happy to offer them up. Go check out that Q&A for some further insight and analysis.

Memphis is a ship without a rudder, captain or destination at the moment. Many fans simply want this disastrous season to be over with so that they can focus on the hope that the offseason brings to every team looking to rebuild. The Grizzlies are in the midst of a 16 game road losing streak - their longest since they moved from Vancouver.

Golden State has won five straight against the Grizzlies and are on a 4-game home winning streak. They are maintaining their tenuous grasp on the 8th playoff spot, leading the Denver Nuggets by 2 games at the moment. They will need to take advantage of their next three games (Grizzlies, Kings, Clippers), if they plan on making any noise this postseason.

Point Guards: Mike Conley vs Baron Davis
BD has been on fire in the month of March, averaging 27.4 ppg, 7.6 apg, 4.6 rpg, 1.4 spg on .527 FG% in the last 7 games. He's even chipped in 4 blocks in the last 3 games. Mike Conley, on the other hand, has been facing the typical struggles that all rookie point guards deal with. The scary thing is, his stats are almost exactly what I predicted they would be in the preseason. Of course, all the rest of them were way off, but I'm going to bask in the glow of being right for a little while.
Advantage: Golden State

Shooting Guards: Mike Miller vs Monta Ellis
Monta Ellis has responded to March in much the same way as his backcourt mate. Through 7 games he is averaging 23.1 ppg, 7 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.9 spg on .550 FG%. This smallish SG (only 6'3") is lightning quick and has a great mid-range game to go with his prolific slashing ability. In other words, he's going to shred the Grizzlies' defense once again. Mike Miller has put up less than spectacular numbers in the last three games (all blowouts) and the fact hasn't changed that as #33 goes, so go the Grizzlies. He'll have to put forth a superhuman effort for them to even be competitive in this one.
Advantage: Golden State

Small Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Stephen Jackson
Captain Jack had been playing well prior to Thursday's loss to Phoenix when his shot seemed to leave him. If his perimeter game picks back up, Rudy could be in for a long night on defense. There is some concern that Rudy Gay is less than 100%, given that the Commercial Appeal reported that he pulled his left hamstring against the Suns, which he feels limited his effectiveness against Denver. If that injury is still bothering him, this matchup could get ugly very quickly.
Advantage: Memphis

Power Forwards: Hakim Warrick vs Mickael Pietrus
Now, on most teams Pietrus would be as much of a PF as Shaq is a SG. But by the Bay, anyone can play anywhere, which is why he gets the start here as far as we can ascertain. Pietrus has responded well to the increase in playing time over the last few weeks, which I find interesting given that Nellie didn't want to play him at all early in the season. Of course, Nellie is known for making unusual decisions and leaving people guessing. Hak will do what Hak does: score and rebound. He'll definitely struggle to defend Pietrus though.
Advantage: Golden State

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Andris Biedrins
Biedrins is a classic high-energy player, which is the classic example of what Darko has trouble with. In other words, expect Biedrins to get the best of him in blocks and rebounds, even if he doesn't score much. Darko's main role should be to block out any and everyone he can to prevent the Warriors from collecting easy second chance points.
Advantage: Golden State

Benches: Memphis vs Golden State
Al Harrington has been sent back to the bench (again, for reasons only Don Nelson knows), giving the Warriors another weapon off the bench as he joins Kelenna Azubuike, Brandan Wright and C.J. Watson as the primary scoring threats in reserve. The Grizzlies still don't have much coming off the bench for them, as they counter with Kyle Lowry, Juan Carlos Navarro, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins.
Advantage: Golden State


Relevant blogs/websites:
Golden State of Mind
The City
WarriorsWorld
Ball Don't Lie - Warriors talk about their first cars
Commercial Appeal - Grizz seek talent like (Monta) Ellis
Tom Ziller (The Fanhouse) - Will Monta Ellis Leave Baron's Shadow?

Golden State Postgame - Pau Scores 43

Not surprising to anyone, the Grizzlies lost tonight to the Warriors 116 to 104. It was the Grizzlies 2nd game on a 3 game road trip. The Grizzlies have now lost 3 straight and are something like 4-16 in the last 20 games.

I don't have much to say right now about the loss except to congratulate Pau on a superb offensive effort in scoring 43 points. Pau played admirably tonight in a tough loss. The bench (Kyle, JC, Hak, and newcomer Bobby Jones) was able to make a few runs in both halves against the Warriors bench to somewhat close the deficit to single digits or at least low double digits, but who am I kidding, the Warriors had total control of the game from basically the tip-off. (Photo by Getty)

Again, I tip my hat to a great offensive game for Pau. He was only 1 point shy of his career high and only 2 points shy of the Franchise record. I wish he would have gotten a few extra garbage points in the final minutes to get those scoring accomplishments. He deserved it.

I might have something more interesting to say about this game, or this road trip in general, later in the weekend. Tell me what you thought about the game in the comments. Maybe Chip, or Spartacus or MemphisX will chime in later with something else to add about this game.

Spartacus Says

The Good
Pau Gasol did to the Warriors what Dirk Nowitzki should have done in the playoffs last year. What did Charles Barkley say in the middle of that first round series? Something about low-post scoring being Golden State's weakness? Gasol could have scored 50+ if this had been the old "dump it into Pau" offense of the Fratello era.

Juan Carlos Navarro got on track again for the first time since Boston, going for 20 points on an array of 3-pointers and "La Bomba" floaters. When he gets going, he is so much fun to watch as he slithers into the lane for his patented push shot or the way he doesn't hesitate a single nanosecond before flinging a 3-pointer towards the net. His style is so unorthodox, yet so effective that it has to be maddening to defend.

The Bad
Rudy Gay forced shots over and over again in the first half, trying to will himself into a hot streak. He finally caught fire late in the 4th quarter after his impressive tip-in dunk, but it was too little, too late. He needs to learn that the quickest way to bust a shooting slump is by putting his head down and taking it strong to the basket, where at the very least he should get rewarded with free throws.

Mike Conley was made to look like a rookie once again as he got abused repeatedly by Baron Davis and Monta Ellis. Those two players did the same thing to Lowry and Navarro as well, but they absolutely feasted on Conley as he lost them in transition, off screens and while trying to play help defense. You cannot play "help defense" against a Don Nelson coached team. Hopefully this is a lesson that Conley will not require several classes in.

The Ugly
Team play. Following Gasol's comments after the Lakers' game, I was hopeful that his words would have been heeded. Instead, the Grizzlies once again had less than half of their made FG's assisted as they tallied 18 assists on 40 FG's. Conversely, the Warriors had 33 assists on 48 made FG's. I'm sure that some joker will bring up the number of shots that Gasol made that were probably unassisted, but he couldn't be stopped all night and there wasn't another viable option to turn to last night. Not that it stopped a few players from trying to shoot their way out of their slump on some poorly thought-out 1-on-1 plays.

Defensive rotations. Granted, it is difficult when the Warriors trot out a lineup of 4 guys capable of hitting 3-pointers, but in the first half especially they failed to close out on open shooters, which contributed greatly to the Warriors shooting over 60% in the first quarter. To his credit, Iavaroni recognized that the Pau/Darko frontcourt pairing was giving up more in perimeter shots than they could make up in low-post scoring together and went small, but it was too late by then.

Quick Hit Thoughts
I'm even more enamored with Andris Biedrins' basketball IQ and rebounding acumen than the Grizzlies' broadcast team. I would like to introduce Sean Tuohy to Dwight Howard though, after he insisted a few times that Biedrins was the "strongest center in the league".

I might strongly dislike Baron Davis (goes back to his UCLA days -- don't ask), but he played like a Superstar last night -- not the capital "S". On his way to dishing out 19 assists, he was a leader on both ends of the floor, tallying 2 steals and 2 blocks to go with his 6 rebounds and 20 points. When he is healthy and happy, he is a definite game-changer.

Hakim Warrick provided some solid scoring off the bench once again. I know that I've been hard on the guy all season, but I'd much rather see him develop and stick around than to rely on Stro for serious minutes yet again.

3-Pointers -- Golden State: 14/32, Memphis 6/20. There's your ballgame folks. Also, if somebody finds video of the Al Harrington "bounce off the top of the backboard" 3-pointer, please send it to us.

Memphis at Golden St - 1.11.08

Memphis plays their second game of the three game west coast road trip and the second game in a row against the red hot Warriors who demolished the Grizzlies in December. Not a good way to enter a game. The Grizzlies had their first major let down game of the new year against the Lakers on Tuesday. The Grizz played even for three quarters but unfortunately it was the last three quarters. The Lakers jumped to a 16 pt 1st quarter lead and the Grizzlies never seriously challenged after that. The culprits were the usual failure to get back on defense, poor shooting and turnovers. All signs of a young team that hasn't learned how to play together. Memphis lacks experience at key positions and leadership at the positions were experience isn't the problem. It basically comes down to shooting for the Grizzlies. If they shoot well then they don't give up so many fast break points and commit so many turnovers. Great teams overcome poor shooting. Memphis succumbs to it.

Golden St loves to run and puts pressure on people to force turnovers. That doesn't sound to good for Memphis. However the gambling style creates open shots which usually leads to teams shooting well against the Warriors. The real power of the Warriors comes from the consistency of the pressure. Some teams pressure from time to time but the Warriors never stop. It wears down teams over time and then Golden St has them. The speed at every position leads to lots of easy shots and the Warriors acceptance of open shots for their opponents tricks teams into playing too fast for their style and this results in more turnovers. Baron Davis is having an all-star type of season and possibly an MVP one if he can remain healthy. Stephen Jackson's return from a 7 game suspension to start the season has triggered Golden St's run up the standings.

Trends and Relevant Stats
-- The Griz are 0-4 versus Pacific Division teams this year.
-- The Griz are a league worst 1-8 in games decided by 3 points or less.
-- The Griz are 2-6 on the 2nd game of a back-to-back.
-- In the last 5 meetings between the Griz and Warriors, both teams have always scored over 100 points. Expect a shootout tonight.
-- Rudy Gay now has a steal in 20 straight games.
-- Rudy Gay is steadily improving. His January averages have been his best month so far, averaging 22.6 points, 6 boards, 3.2 assists, 2 steals and shooting over 50% from the field.
-- The Warriors lead the league in 3 pointers attempted (27.4) and made (9.6). The Griz are 5th in 3-point attempts (21.4) and 6th in makes (7.8).
-- The Warriors are a surprisingly average 9-7 at home this year.

Zack's Keys (only 2 instead of 3 for this game):
-- Make Shots. Both teams are going to jack up a ton of shots tonight. The Griz need to shoot well, obviously. Both teams shot over 50% from the field in the first meeting this year.
-- Slow Down the Pick-and-Roll. I expect Biedrins and Davis to run alot of pick and rolls this game and as I have wrote until my fingertips become bloody, the Griz are horrible at defending the pick and roll.

Matchups

Point Guards: Mike Conley vs Baron Davis
Well Conley started off against inexperienced Andre Owens, Rajon Rondo and Chris Quinn. He then progressed to experienced but not overly talented Derek Fisher and Beno Udrih. Now Conley gets a real taste of the NBA. Baron Davis is no Andre Owens after all. Don't let his 48.1 FG% fool you. Baron Davis is among the top 3 point guards in the league. Fisher made Conley look like a 20 yr old kid on Tuesday so I imagine Baron Davis will get the scouting report on how to play him.
Advantage: Golden St

Shooting Guards: Mike Miller vs Monta Ellis
The Missisippi native Monta Ellis is blossoming into a dynamic shooting guard under Don Nelson's offense. The 3rd yr pro is averaging 16.3 ppg this season on 49.3% FG shooting. While not a deep threat at only 21.9% his speed makes the long ball less important. Mike Miller is taller and slower than Ellis which means he should be able to shoot over Ellis but no way he can drive past him. It will be important for Miller to keep shooting in this game as he has had monstrous games at Golden St in the past.
Advantage: Memphis

Small Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Stephen Jackson
Stephen Jackson is the heart and soul of the wild Warrior attack. It is amazing that only one season after being traded from Indiana where he got into all kinds of trouble both on and off the court that he would be named Captain of an NBA team. I guess it's true that any thing is possible in the NBA. Rudy has never had any trouble with character issues and is starting to come into his own as a player. Rudy has learned to be the main offensive player. He has learned how to shoot himself out of a slump. What he has to learn now is how to include the rest of the team in his success and things will start to really get interesting. Jackson is a great defender however and seems to elevate his game to the competition.
Advantage: Golden St

Power Forwards Pau Gasol vs Matt Barnes
Barnes was benched against Portland Wednesday night but still played more than half the game and should be back in the starting lineup against Memphis. Barnes had his career game against Memphis last year and has had solid efforts defensively against Gasol. Gasol would appear to be a slam dunk to have big games against the small Golden St lineup but instead it seems to give him a lot of trouble. Gasol came out against the way the team has been playing and needs to have some statement games now to back it up. Gasol didn't play in the first Golden St game so it will be interesting to see what happens in the rematch.
Advantage: Memphis

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Andris Biedrins
Darko has been improving every game this year including a double-double against Andrew Bynum and the Lakers but his propensity to take fouls is killing his development. Darko has to learn that not every shot in the lane is a potential block. At 22 he still gives the impression that he can do it all instead of doing what he needs to do often. Hopefully this will come with time. His thumb is obviously still bothering him but he is adapting and the injury is causing him to develop his right hand. Biedrins is fast, active and works hard. He is not very talented but he uses what he has perfectly in the Golden St system. Basically Darko is still in the learning stage and Biedrins is not.
Advantage: Golden St

Benches: Memphis vs Golden St
Golden St uses everyone on their bench, half the NBDL and occasionally pulls fans from the stands. If you play on a Don Nelson team you will play in a game and be expected to contribute. Case in point is newest NBDL call up CJ Watson who played 30 minutes in his first game with the Warriors and he hadn't even practiced with the team yet! The one exception seems to be former 1st rd pick Patrick O'Bryant. Look for him to be jettisoned before the trade deadline. Kelena Azubuike, Austin Croshere, Al Harrington (and why isn't he starting?) and even rookies Brandon Wright and Marco Belinelli could see time in this game. The Warriors run hard and that requires bodies to succeed. Memphis' bench has been getting shorter and shorter and performing worse and worse. Hopefully Navarro and Lowry can bust out of their rookie wall slumps and have a good game. Look for Hakim Warrick to have a big game.
Advantage: Golden St

Golden State of Mind asked us some questions and we were way too eager to answer them -- we get lonely, you see. So head over there and check them out.

Relevant blogs/sites:
Golden State of Mind
The City
Hoopsworld Preview
Grizzlies.com

Postgame Thoughts - Golden St

Well another home game and another loss that could have been very different. It seems that the Grizzlies have trouble keeping thier concentration the whole game in these tough losses. Golden St also simply looked in better shape than the Grizzlies.

The problems were the same as usual for the Grizzlies. Pathetic interior defense and poor rebounding. Golden St scored over 60 pts in the paint tonight. That is over 120 interior points surrendered in the last two games. The Grizzlies won't win a lot of games with that poorous of an interior defense.

Memphis was outrebounded 52 to 35. Darko's early foul trouble started the trouble and it looked like he may have reinjured his ankle as well. Things just don't get better for the Grizzlies frontline on the injury front. Without Gasol or Milicic the Grizzlies simply couldn't compete on the boards or defending in the paint.

The long range shooting showed up but to late to make up the deficit. Going 1-16 from 3 pt land in the first three quarters made a miracle comeback highly unlikely. Still the team didn't drop their heads and give up. This is a good sign for the future. Eventually Memphis will get their big men healthy and with some time together will improve their defense in the middle. It just feels like they will never improve.

Good game for Navarro, Rudy and even Mike Miller who woke up in the fourth to salvage what was otherwise a disappointing game. Mike looked to make the extra pass too often early in the game. He turned down good looks to try and give others better opportunities. While admirable the Grizzlies needed him to be more aggressive. When he started attacking and taking open shots he was very effective.

Damon started strong but faded and Kyle started slow but finished strong. Unfortuantly Kyle got a little too fast down the stretch and made two costly turnovers. Then he took a bog elbow from Baron Davis (who apparently was not going to be fouled out no matter what he did at the end of the game) that nearly knocked him out.

Tough loss but a strong effort tonight. One very bad quarter (the 2nd) pretty much decided the outcome but the team fought hard. Rudy is starting to put together some serious scoring games which has to be a positive.

Grizzlies vs Golden St - 12.17.07

Memphis finally got a couple of clutch shots down the stretch, turned up the defense, made the free throws and won a close game. Believe it or not it was the first time this season that the Grizzlies won a game where the score was within two points with 3 minutes to play that the Grizzlies won. Rudy Gay continued his search for respect around the league with a career high 32 points including 23 in the 2nd half. His combination of size, leaping ability and range makes him potentially one of the most difficult guards in the league once he figures out the game. Class is still in session but he is getting honors grades so far this season. Pau Gasol will miss this game and could be out until after Christmas but a big man with questionable speed and hustle won't be missed as much in this game.

Golden St enters the game searching for their Prozac. If there is a more bi-polar team in the NBA I don't know what it is. Golden St opened the season with 6 consecutive losses. Then the Warriors won 9 of their next 10 games. Since those two streaks the Warriors are 4-4. So they have been hot, cold and in between. Golden St is the best scoring team in the league having topped 100 pts in all but two games but those games came in their last three games heading into Detroit. The Warriors Sunday night game means they will be playing the 2nd game of a back to back series with travel. Energy shouldn't be a problem for this Warriors team however.

Point Guards: Damon Stoudamire vs Baron Davis
Baron Davis is playing some of the best basketball of his career in the mayhem that is Don Nelson's offense. He is scoring at the 2nd best clip of his career (22.8 ppg -11th in the league), averaging the 2nd best assists number of his career (8.3 - 6th best in the league) and creating more steals (2nd in the league at 2.52 apg) than at any time in his career. Now Davis just has to avoid the injury bug that has plagued his career. Damon has not been playing well of late and needs to be on his game if he wants to play much in this game.
Advantage: Golden St

Shooting Guards: Juan Carlos Navarro vs Monta Ellis
Monta Ellis is one of the fastest players in the league. The youngster from Jackson, Ms will have plenty of fans in the stands to keep him motivated as well. Ellis has been showing that last season' breakout year was no fluke averaging 16.1 ppg, 3.4 apg and 1.5 spg. Juan Carlos finally broke out of his shooting funk with 5 three point shots against Orlando on the way to a 27 pt outing. When Navarro is shooting the ball well he is very dangerous all over the court with nifty passes and sneaky defensive plays but when he shot isn't falling Navarro is far less impressive.
Advantage: Golden St

Small Forwards: Mike Miller vs Stephen Jackson
Stephen Jackson is the captain of the Golden St Warriors. Maybe that explains the erratic behavior exhibited on the court by the Warriors. At one time Stephen Jackson was considered a divisive attitude on a team. Now he is a captain. What he hasn't become is conservative shooting the ball. His averages of 39.9% from the field and 32.4% from the arc aren't exactly representative of a team leader. Mike Miller seems to realize that he has to be a threat for this team to win. He was quoted as telling Rudy Gay that they need to go big if they are going to beat Orlando. I have a news flash Mike, you have to go big for Memphis to beat just about anyone.
Advantage: Memphis

Power Forwards: Rudy Gay vs Al Harrington
I am going out on a limb with this match. Harrington hasn't been starting regularly but does anyone believe Nellie isn't going to want one of his most experienced players matching up against Rudy Gay? I am not sure why Harrington hasn't been playing more anyway. He is hitting a nice percentage of his shots including 41% from the arc. Harrington is a hard worker who won't allow Rudy to operate with too much freedom. The good news for Rudy is that Harrington isn't a big driver of the ball and he doesn't have tremendous size so Rudy won't be over matched at PF. This is a statement type of game for Rudy. After setting a career high he comes up against a team not known for it's defense and Rudy has the potential to put huge back to back games up.
Advantage: Memphis

Centers: Darko Milicic vs Andres Biedrins
Darko Milicic isn't in condition to go 40 minutes a night against any team yet and that goes double for a fast paced team like the Warriors. One of the reasons Biedrins is so effective for the Warriors is his ability to run and jump at the pace the Warriors play. His stamina allows him to get to balls while the opposing big men are still catching their breath. Not good for a Grizzlies team who are thin in the middle.
Advantage: Golden St

Benches: Memphis vs Golden St
Golden State has a very active and effective bench. That happens when you have 8 players who have started at least 5 games already this season. Led by Kelanna Azubuike who averages double figures off the bench and Matt Barnes who absolutely torched Memphis last season, the Warriors bench expects to play and produce. The only bad side of the Warriors has been the weak play from their rookies Marco Belinelli and Brandon Wright who have both played very poorly so far. Memphis' bench is finally finding some sort of rotation. Kyle Lowry brings energy off the bench with Hakim providing a point a minute scoring. Stromile started the season strong but has dropped off considerable of late. Casey Jacobsen is getting the extra minutes with Pau out but that may not be the case against a fast team like the Warriors.
Advantage: Golden St

Other Previews/Relevant Blogs:
Golden State of Mind
The City