Many might not understand how or why the Grizzlies and Warriors have a developing rivalry, at least beyond the surface—an ostensibly rising power in the Western Conference trying to dethrone the established legacy. That’s basic, bro.
But the reason the Warriors won’t even acknowledge the rivalry, and the Grizzlies are so keen on maintaining it (yeah, it’s obviously a rivalry, if you’ve been paying any attention), has to do with nuanced organizational history.
These nuanced organizational histories, especially relative to one another, reveal that the wood cracks dozens of times before it breaks. And that’s when you reconsider the design, or perhaps your carpenter.
In other words, the Grizzlies have been the primary thorn in the Warriors side far before their current iteration, and the reason why (and why the Grizzlies are prime to dethrone the Warriors) is because of a change of style, method, and mode of play. And that’s from where a lot of the ego actually stems. And that’s what’s up.
HISTORY
Steph Curry got ejected for throwing his mouthguard the other night, but it’s not the first time he’s done so. In fact, Curry has been ejected for doing so three times in his career—twice while playing the Grizzlies (the other time was during the 2016 Finals against the Cavs). The previous instance of Steph “The Baby” Curry throwing his mouthguard while playing the Grizzlies was October 2017, when Durant also got ejected (Durant famously gave the crowd the finger, but it was later understood that he was showing his ring finger—meaning we have no rings—and not his middle finger).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zeyej5bfZE
Aside from the obvious question as to why The Baby doesn’t get suspended after such repeated antics (get rid of your pacifier, The Baby!), we have to wonder why the Grizz get under the skin of the Warriors to such a degree.
Let’s look at the matchups between the Grizzlies and the Warriors since 2016-17 season:
2016-17: Grizz 2 – Warriors 2
2017-18: Grizz 1 – Warriors 2
2018-19: Grizz 1 – Warriors 3
2019-20: Grizz 2 – Warriors 1
2020-21: Grizz 2 – Warriors 2
2021-22: Grizz 3 – Warriors 1
That’s 11-11 since 2016-17 season (not counting current season). But let’s put this into perspective. Here are the records for the teams during those years:
Golden State Warriors:
2016-17 – 67-15
2017-18 – 58-24
2018-19 – 57-25
2019-20 – 15-50
2020-21 – 39-33
2021-22 – 53-29
Memphis Grizzlies:
2016-17 – 43-39
2017-18 – 22-60
2018-19 – 33-49
2019-20 – 34-49
2020-21 – 38-34
2021-22 – 56-26
Additionally, the Warriors won the NBA Finals in 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2021-22, losing in the Finals in 2018-19. In short, despite the 11-11 record since 2016-17, it’s clear that, relative to respective seasons, the Grizz have been a big thorn in the side of the Warriors.
And we can’t forget last season’s playoff series between the Grizz and Warriors, wherein Gary Payton was controversially injured by Dillon Brooks; Jordan Poole in turn injured Ja Morant; and Steph Curry (ahem, The Baby) performed a patent flop to secure a key win.
(The) Baby, there’s bad blood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcIy9NiNbmo
STYLE
This isn’t just about what organization is ostensibly getting better and/or moving up, or which organization is perhaps on a downslide. It’s about another sea change in style and mode of playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuQqF9ZOBSc
The Warriors disrupted all methods of offensive play (since nobody plays defense anymore). Traditional scramble, triangle offense, “iso” offense—toss it out the window. The Warriors just started dropping three-point perimeter bombs. If you can hit homeruns, why wouldn’t you?
But that’s big ball. Enter: small ball. The Grizz have slowly but surely introduced a small ball approach that changes the paradigm of NBA offense: a wide array of role players with a deep bench that revolve around a true, traditional, and admittedly small point guard. This is the sea change.
Consider what the Grizz have sparked in terms of team-building. The Nuggets have Jokic, of course, but where would they be without Jamal Murray—and there’s a reason Bones Hyland is such a hot commodity on the trade market. If Shai Gilgeous Alexander is Morant-lite, then everybody is after the next true point guard. Penny Hardaway would be proud. In short, teams are not building to be the Warriors; they’re building to be the Grizz. And the Warriors know it.
UPSHOT
People come to see Ja Morant these days—not only because he’s electrifying but because he wins games. And he does it without throwing mouthguards at fans or officials. Imagine that, The Baby. Curry needs to toss his pacifier and take a nap. We predict he’ll have plenty of time to do that after they’re quickly eliminated from the playoffs, hopefully by the Grizz. Then we’d love to hear Klay Thompson talk about dynasty….
