Insider Insights: Warriors’ Mid-Game Barrage Dooms Grizzlies

For close to a half of basketball it looked like the Grizzlies could win. Looked as if they were going to eek out the dub against the Dubs on their home court. But alas… It wasn’t meant to be.

Golden State made sure of it.

Fueled by a Draymond Green tech, the Warriors were able to mount a flurry of scoring. One that closed out the first half and opened the second half. And one that buried Memphis in hole they were incapable of climbing out of.

Regardless, the guys fought throughout the contest. But the Warrior’s offensive explosion was too much to overcome. Still, there were things to like—and things to not—in the loss.

At least enough things to not consider the game a total loss right?

2 Things I Liked…

• Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., GG Jackson II continue to fit.

It’s a small sample size for sure… But in three games? The Desmond Bane/Jaren Jackson Jr./GG Jackson II fit is yielding prime results.

Particularly for GG. With defenses forced to pull more attention towards Des, Jackson II has been feasting. In three games together here’s what the 19 year old’s cobbled together…

Career-high seven triples and a career-high 31 points for @_ggjackson. pic.twitter.com/PPzfKX4Frv

— Bally Sports: Grizzlies (@GrizzOnBally) March 21, 2024

Against the Thunder? 19 PTS, 4 REB, and 4 AST. The Kings? 22 PTS, 7 REB, and 3 STL. And last night against the Warriors? 35 PTS, 5 REB, and 3 AST.

Pretty damn good right? It’s not been GG alone producing with 22’s return. Trip’s reaped the benefits as well.

In that same three-game span here were his numbers… 19 PTS, 6 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL, and 1 BLK in the first game. 25 PTS, 2 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, and 4 BLK in the second. And in the third? 28 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, and 1 STL.

7️⃣ offensive boards. 1️⃣6️⃣ second-chance points. @jarenjacksonjr's triple after @LaDeeky's board puts the Grizz back in front! pic.twitter.com/aaqsX1z1IN

— Bally Sports: Grizzlies (@GrizzOnBally) March 21, 2024

Both JJJ and GG are showing out with Bane back. In fact all three are gelling with perfection it would seem. Again small sample size… But per Cleaning the Glass, in 11 possessions lineups with Des at the 1, GG at the 3, and Jaren at the 5… They have an efficiency differential of +18.2.

+18.2. That’s good enough to be in the league’s 99th percentile. I don’t want to say it again—small sample size—but it’s looking good so far. There’s not much in the way of the excitement it would seem for the rest of the Grizzlies’ season.

But this? This combo looks like it’s going to be worth watching.

• Santi Aldama makes his case.

Amid all the GG talk there’s another young wing determined to stake his claim. To at least some serious rotation minutes in this team’s championship run. Whenever that happens.

But Santi Aldama seems like he wants to be a part of Memphis’ future.

Bango‼️@_ggjackson finds @santialdama and Santi finds the bottom of the net out of the timeout 🙌 pic.twitter.com/4C3bLyQYZZ

— Bally Sports: Grizzlies (@GrizzOnBally) March 21, 2024

One point away from tying his season high of 28 PTS, Santi was a big reason why the Grizzlies stayed in this game. He poured in the following against the Warriors…

27 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, and 1 BLK. That was on 50.0/50.0/75.0% shooting splits. That’s a complete game if you ask me. And the deeper you look you’ll see it’s not only Trip and GG who’re benefiting from Des’ return.

mhmmmmm https://t.co/06z91kKFnt pic.twitter.com/bGSKOqZfmy

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) March 21, 2024

Against the Thunder and Kings? 16 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, and 1 BLK. And 14 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, and 1 BLK. That’s three complete games in a row for ‘Slim Spain’.

Santi has to know that with the rise of GG and Vince Williams Jr…. Well minutes in the rotation are going to be getting sparse. Pencil in Ja Morant, Des, Trip, Marcus Smart, Brandon Clarke, Luke Kennard, GG, Vince, and some form of center…

Aldama is looking at the ninth spot in the rotation as is I’d argue. Now if he’s your ninth guy? That’s pretty damn good. He’s staking his claim—and doing so with assurance—for a spot in the rotation as this team head’s towards a chip.

…And 1 Thing I Didn’t

• The 22-0 Warriors’ run in the middle of the game was a real bummer.

At the end of the day I’d say you can hang this loss on one run. The 22-0 run that Golden state rode into halftime… And then carried into the third.

To be frank if you let 22 points go unanswered you don’t deserve to win an NBA game.

It was a tale of two teams… One that’s been-there, done-that and brings levels of caliber to these games… And one that’s hurdling towards that first championship parade in a season soon.

They weren’t as outmatched as you’d think either. I’d argue this game was well within hand… Minus that run. There was nothing the Grizzlies could do against that.

Photo Credit: (Justin Ford/Getty Images)