Winning the first game of the Western Conference semifinals with a one-point margin that can win a game is both a good thing and a bad thing for the Warriors. It is a good thing to say that as a Warrior who has dominated the league for several seasons, although the Grizzlies have put a lot of pressure on them and created a lot of difficulties, Dream Green was also sent off for a second-level foul, and when more than 40 seconds before the end of the game, he once led the Warriors by 2 points at 116-114, and the last 3.6 seconds also had the opportunity to kill the Warriors, but it was the Warriors who won in the end. Saying that it is a bad thing is that it is obvious that in the away game, the home whistle is somewhat obvious, for the Warriors, it can also be predicted in advance that the way forward will be full of more uncertainties, which naturally requires the Warriors to be careful and pay attention. However, being able to win the Grizzlies by 117-116 and 1 point still shows that their championship background will help them work hard to overcome difficulties.
Judging from the comparison of the two sides' four-quarter points, the Warriors trailed by 8 points 24-32 in the first quarter, and the players were a bit foul at the beginning, which also made them compete with the Grizzlies in a negative way. Fortunately, in the second and third quarters, they won the Grizzlies by 2 points and 7 points in the two quarters 31-29 and 36-29 respectively. Morant, who had a game-high 34 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists, also lost in the third quarter. He gave up the opportunity to break through in a longer period of time, still shot three points after the three-point shooting rate declined, and also let the Grizzlies turn from an advantage to a disadvantage on the court, from a certain point of view, It is not Jackson's performance in the third quarter is still stable, the whole game also contributed 33 points and 10 rebounds, and the three-point shot also has 9 shots and 6 shots, and the game may have lost suspense in the third quarter.
Of course, even though Curry has always been regarded as the warrior's number one family, why he will appear in the sixth man position from time to time this season is because Thompson's return, coupled with Poole's efficiency, has given Curry more opportunities to advance and retreat. That is to say, if the Warriors can narrowly beat the Grizzlies by 1 point in this campaign, if they want to find the two biggest contributors to the team, I am afraid that they will have to rank up with Poole and Thompson first, and Curry will retreat to the third position. Poole played 37 minutes in this strong dialogue, exactly the same as Curry's playing time, but he got 31 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, shooting 12 of 20, that is, 60%, 10 shots from 5 of 10, shooting 50%, and the plus-minus of the whole game was also the team's highest +10. On the other hand, Curry, this battle can be said to have not played very well, but it did not drop the chain. He contributed the team's second-highest 24 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, but the shooting percentage was 8 of 20 and 5 of 12 three-pointers, which was indeed some gap compared to Poole, and the only player in the team's main force who had a low plus-minus value. But overall, Curry on the court, always have a restraining force on the Grizzlies' defense, and in the final decisive moment, Curry also contributed a key block, which is enough for him to reflect his own value.
Let's talk about Thompson, in fact, whether it is himself or some fans who like the Warriors, there may be a feeling that even if Thompson's score is only 15 points, and Poole and Curry have a gap, Thompson's shooting rate and stability at key moments have always been more reassuring than Curry. His key three-point shot was also a key part of the Warriors' eventual victory. If you look at the whole game, the Warriors' three-point shooting rate is not high, and conversely, the Grizzlies' three-point shooting is a bit super-level, because their three-point shooting is 16 of 40, shooting a high of 40%, while the Warriors are 14 of 38, slightly lower than the Grizzlies. But with Thompson's key three-point shot and Morant's bottom line shot missing, both Poole and Thompson became the heroes of the Warriors' victory in this battle, and Morant, the highest score in the game, became the background board for the Warriors to win the carnival.
What's more interesting is that after the game, the camera is given to Green, who was sent off early in the players' tunnel, and his excitement will suddenly remind people of the Warriors' 5-8 scene that year. Both teams are 10 people in the rotation, but also 9 people to score, 4 people in doubles, Wiggins and Clark, Melton also have a good play, but in the end, it is Poole, Thompson, Curry and Morant. The Warriors have already taken a big 1-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. The Grizzlies coach's pre-game talk of sweeping the Warriors 4-0 also seemed to turn into a joke. However, since the two teams can decide the winner by 1 point at the end of the first match, it also shows from one side that the current round of competition between the two teams is not so easy to win no matter which team wants to win. Whether the game can be controlled within 4, 5, and at most 6 games depends on the continuous combat ability of Curry, Thompson and Poole.