The Grizzlies playing the Warriors is now a strong and powerful showdown, before today the Warriors West no. 1 Grizzlies are fourth in the West, and the Grizzlies are undoubtedly one of the hottest teams in the league right now.
In the latest official battle list, the Grizzlies have climbed to the second place in the league, and it is the Warriors who occupy the first place. Starting with a loss to the Warriors on Dec. 24, the Grizzlies have gone all the way to a nine-game winning streak.
Morant won back-to-back for two weeks of player of the week. So playing against the Warriors again today is a battle of revenge for the Grizzlies. And today the Grizzlies also withstood the pressure and won 10 consecutive wins on the Warriors to successfully avenge.
In the first quarter alone, Morant played 6 of 9 minutes and scored 15 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists, and the state was completely explosive. Morant also became the first player this season to score 15 points against the Warriors multiple times in a single quarter.
But from the second quarter onwards, in order to limit Morant's play, Kerr sent Peyton Jr., who has been slaughtering the senior defensive data list this season, and this change has really worked.
Payton Jr. clung to Morant as soon as he came on the scene, giving Morant enough defensive pressure from the time he received the ball at the back. And Payton Jr.'s defensive action is very clean, that is, to interfere with Morant at the extreme defensive scale.
So Morant cut back his shots after 6 of 10 in the first quarter, 1 of 3 in the second quarter, 2 of 5 in the third quarter, and 2 of 5 in the fourth quarter. In the next three quarters, Morant added up to just 14 points.
Payton Jr.'s restrictions on Morant became the beginning of the Warriors' counterattack, and they were 18 points behind in the first half, but the Warriors started from the second half of the second quarter, trailing by 8 points at halftime.
In the first three minutes of the second half, the Warriors played a 12-0 offensive move to reverse the score. But the Grizzlies withstood the wave of madness, with Morant dudded, Zaire Williams and Jones continued to fire.
When Jaren Jackson Jr. got rid of the foul, the Warriors' rebounding was once again at a disadvantage, and finally Jones hit two consecutive three-pointers to close the game. The Grizzlies' ten-game winning streak is not just for Morant.
Of course, today is still the second game after Clay's return, Kerr still keeps his playing time below 20 minutes, playing 19 minutes today, shooting 5 of 13, 2 of 5 three-pointers for 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
I believe that if Clay's playing time is increased to around 30 minutes, his average points per game should be close to 20+. The only question is, is Clay dribbling too much now? Or the pure no-ball play of the past is more suitable for him.
Although it ushered in Klay's comeback, but the Warriors have lost three of the last four games, Curry's state seems to never return to the MVP level at the beginning of the season, which should make the Warriors sound a wake-up call.