© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Maybe the minds behind the NBA schedule have ESP, or maybe it’s just a coincidence. But the NBA schedule culminated in a pretty perfect way on Sunday, with two quasi-playoff games to determine the eighth and ninth seeds in both conferences.
With the sixth-straight game and potential sixth-straight win of a season-closing home stand, the Warriors were in position to make their play-in situation a bit easier, and they did just that, beating the now-ninth-seeded Memphis Grizzles 112-101. The Warriors secured the eighth seed and Curry grabbed his second scoring title.
And now the Warriors will compete with either the Lakers or the Trail Blazers to either become the seventh seed, or play another play-in game (winner of the Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs) to reclaim the eighth spot and face the Utah Jazz in the first round.
Pulled away, then let Memphis back in, then pulled away again
If the Warriors intend to turn in a play-in into a playoff run, they really should be able to pull away from teams like the Grizzlies. And after a tightly-fought first quarter, they stretched their lead comfortably from the second to third quarter.
Then, as Bob Fitzgerald likes to say, “these are non-Steph minutes, okay?”
And the non-Steph minutes were, predictably, less than stellar. A 17-point lead was cut down to nine, and Curry had to re-enter the game with about nine minutes remaining to bring order, peace, and some hint of sanity to a game which was severely lacking it.
And with Dillon Brooks out of the game, Curry stretched that lead out again down the stretch. A tie game turned into a 12-point Warriors lead with two minutes remaining. It’s unlikely the Warriors are going to blow anyone out if/when they get to the playoffs, but it’s clear that the Warriors have some issues when Curry isn’t in the game.
If it is a play-in against the Los Angeles Lakers, staggering minutes between LeBron James and Anthony Davis, that could be a real issue.
Curry wins the scoring title, and battle with Grizzlies’ best player: Dillon Brooks?
The Warriors had zero respect for Ja Morant’s ability to shoot the ball outside of the paint, and Morant did nothing to encourage them to close him out. It was his teammate, Dillon Brooks, who looked pretty clearly like Memphis’ best player.
As Golden State led by 16 points at the start of the fourth quarter, he was the one carrying them back into the game with dominant defense, and potent fourth-quarter shooting. He finished with 18 points and an early trip to the bench, fouling out with 6:12 remaining. That felt like the end of the game, and it essentially was.
From that point on, Curry ran away with it, going scorched earth en route to his second career scoring title, which he locked up at the start of this game, to become the fourth-oldest scoring champion in league history.
In that classic inferno down the stretch, Curry took career highs in both total field gaol attempts and three-point attempts. He finished with 45 points on 16-of-36 shooting, 9-of-22 from three, with 7 rebounds, 9 assists, a steal, a block and an ugly seven turnovers (largely to the credit of Brooks).
— KNBR (@KNBR) May 16, 2021
How good is this team?
There was little bit of concern about the Warriors’ size versus a team like Memphis, who run with Jonas Valanciunas and Jaren Jackson Jr., two towering front court players who the current Warriors have no one with the size to match. But the Warriors have shown that their small ball lineup, which was borne out of necessity rather than choice, can compete regardless of size disadvantages.
But they’ve shown that in one-off games. You have to wonder whether the size of players like Deandre Ayton and Rudy Gobert in potential seven-game series will become problematic, and again, whether the non-Curry minutes will become to much of a burden to bear.
That’s all the negative stuff out of the way.
This team is exciting, and while a matchup against the Lakers in a one-game playoff is, to put it lightly, not in their favor, there is no one that wants to face Curry right now.
He’s having arguably his greatest season ever, and there’s finally some semblance of a rhythm with this team.
Draymond Green has been dominant again, in classically, under-the-radar fashion.
Andrew Wiggins is playing the best he’s ever played in the most consequential role he’s ever played.
Kevon Looney, while undersized against some of the league’s larger centers, has learned angles and timing to the point that he’s consistently creating second-chance opportunities whether through offensive rebounds or preventive clean defensive grabs. He’s also screening brilliantly and providing spacing with reliable passing.
Kent Bazemore is still a little too erratic to always be relied upon, but he’s consistently scoring 10-plus points, working relentlessly on both ends, and offering another shooting option.
Jordan Poole is a lightning bolt who at this juncture, is the Warriors breath of life off the bench, who is the second purest scorer behind Curry.
And Juan Toscano-Anderson is just the relentless, do-it-all, mini-Draymond who seems to do absolutely everything right.
How good is this team? It’s good enough to make other teams worry. They’ve played their best ball to close out the season with a six-game win streak, and while it’s never felt like this team, as currently constructed, will compete for a championship, weirder things have happen, on teams that don’t have a Steph Curry on the roster.