The Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves, two upstarts, met in the first round of the Western Conference, and finally after a fierce battle, the Grizzlies eliminated the Timberwolves 4-2 to advance to the semifinals. Of course, in the sixth game, the Grizzlies were once in trouble, but in the last quarter they played a 40-22 attack wave, and finally achieved a big reversal, and the next round of the Grizzlies will meet the Golden State Warriors.
Speaking of this year's playoffs, there is almost no cold, and the teams with home advantage have all advanced to the next round without exception. Among them, the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors are ranked second and third in the West in the regular season, and the overall strength is very close, unlike the Warriors' easy solution to the Nuggets in the first round, the Grizzlies still encountered a lot of obstacles and troubles, fortunately, there was finally a thrilling laugh to the end. The Grizzlies, although they lack first-line supergiants, also have their own two major advantages, namely toughness and extremely strong bench depth.
Being able to repeatedly usher in major reversals is enough to explain the mental attributes of the Grizzlies, so this point need not be said. The Grizzlies' team atmosphere is also very good, although usually everyone talks about Ja Morant, Desmond Bain or Jalan Jackson Jr., but in fact, the Grizzlies are all soldiers, and in the sixth game with the Timberwolves, the Grizzlies have a total of 6 players scoring in double figures. In the next series with the Warriors, the three young players in the ascending period may become the key figures in the game. The first is Dillon Brooks, who has been playing in the Grizzlies since entering the league, and has also secured a main position in the past two years and has become the top 3D wing in the league.
However, this season is probably affected by injuries, coupled with the defensive end of the consumption is indeed relatively large, dillon Brooks lost the hot feel during the regular season, shooting only 31% of the three-point shooting rate. But in the series with the Timberwolves, Dillon Brooks was in a clear recovery, and in the sixth game, he shot 9 of 19 and 5 of 6 from outside the three-point line, and Dillon Brooks efficiently cut 23 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. During this series, Dillon Brooks averaged 16.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, and his three-point shooting rate reached 37.1%.
The other two substitute players are even more called heavenly gods. Bench point guard Tyres Jones, as the first-round show of 2015, initially played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but could only be regarded as the third point guard, and the performance was also very average, but the Grizzlies unexpectedly gave Teres Jones a four-year long contract, for which they also gave up the more beautiful data Ofron Wright, which caused a considerable number of people to question. But Tyrese Jones is a bit of a jerk, and since he joined the Grizzlies, the improvement has been very noticeable.
Especially the reason why Ja Morant is out of the game this season, the Grizzlies have not been affected, because from the perspective of organizational passing and defensive ability alone, Tyres Jones is better than Ja Morant, combing the Grizzlies' offense in an orderly manner, and other players are also very selfless and united. After The return of Ja Morant, Tyres Jones adjusted in time to become a reliable substitute behind him, and in the sixth game with the Timberwolves, Tyers Jones quietly contributed 10 points and 4 assists. In this series, Tyres Jones averaged 9.3 points, 3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game, and his three-point shooting rate was more than 50%, and his free throw shooting rate was nearly 90%. The presence of Tyres-Jones not only allowed Ja-Morant to get more rest, but even if the latter did not appear on the court, the opponent did not dare to take it lightly.
Last summer the team got Steven Adams, who is a typical traditional interior blue-collar worker with excellent defensive and rebounding protection but limited offensive output and a loss of footwork and mobility. In the series against the Timberwolves, the Grizzlies also let Steven Adams as the starting center at the beginning, but he did not have the slightest advantage against the opponent's interior line, especially from the second game, the Grizzlies abandoned Steven Adams, and he only played a total of 7 minutes in the next five games. The Grizzlies abandoned Steven Adams, and of course they will not wait, they give the other two interior players Tillman and Brandon Clark more opportunities, especially the latter is the biggest surpriser the Grizzlies have won in this series.
Due to his thin stature, Brandon Clarke's rim and one-sided defense ability are more average, but he is very good at seizing opportunities, and in the sixth game with the Timberwolves, he once again cut a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, and also delivered 5 assists and 3 blocks. In this series, Brandon Clark averaged 16.5 points, 9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1 block per game, and the Grizzlies coaching staff also said bluntly that without Brandon Clark, this round of the series may not be able to win. So the Grizzlies can be second in the West in the regular season, certainly not a flash in the pan, coupled with the home advantage of the series, the Warriors may really face a hard battle.