Getty Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson reacts during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
For the petty contingent of Dub Nation — or even just the segment that had been following the Memphis Grizzlies’ recent press clips — the Golden State Warriors‘ Christmas Day win over Ja Morant and Co. was worthy of a chef’s kiss.
Without Stephen Curry and without Andrew Wiggins, the scuffling, sub-.500 Warriors thumped a Grizzlies squad that currently sits in the top three of the Western Conference. Or, more specifically, a Grizzlies squad that has seemingly downplayed and trivialized the Dubs despite the fact that they were ousted by them during last year’s playoffs.
When asked about his team’s title aspirations just last week by ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Morant infamously looked past the Warriors — and a whole lot of other clubs — by namechecking the Boston Celtics as the lone hurdle Memphis has to clear in order to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. “Nah, I’m fine in the West,” he declared confidently.
Apparently, that attitude has permeated the Grizz locker room; to the point that they made what might have been a fatal error in the hours before the holiday bout with the Warriors.
Grizzlies Apparently Weren’t Concerned About Watching Tape on the Dubs
In the visiting locker room before an NBA game, teams/players typically do their best to focus in on the task ahead, watching highlights and scouting tapes of their opponent. Ahead of the Grizz-Warriors Christmas Day affair, however, the Memphis side was apparently more interested in watching other people play.
Namely, that Celtics team that Morant is so concerned with.
As reported by CBS Sports, the Golden State scouting video was relegated to a single laptop before the game, and its screen was titled down toward the floor. Meanwhile, Grizzlies players had their eyes locked onto a TV that was instead showing the Celtics take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the early game.
“[The Warriors scouting tape] will go on later,” Grizzlies forward Danny Green told CBS Sports in the locker room. “We watch enough of the Warriors.”
If the 14-point deficit shown on the scoreboard after the game was any indication, the Grizzlies coulkd probably stand to watch a little bit more of the Dubs.
B/R Predicts One All-Star Nod for Warriors (Stephen Curry)
Wiggins’ ascension to All-Star status was arguably one of the best stories league-wide during the 2021-22 campaign and, following his stellar run in the playoffs, the former No. 1 overall pick has been even better in 2022-23. Through 22 appearances, he has upped his scoring and rebounding averages to 19.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG.
Meanwhile, his field-goal and three-point conversion rates of 51.1% and 45.0%, respectively, represent new career highs.
Alas, Bleacher Report‘s Grant Hughes doesn’t forsee Wiggins making a return trip to the All-Star Game this season. Instead, he predicted that Steph would be the Dubs’ sole representative in the midseason classic. Wrote Hughes:
Curry will likely be out following a left shoulder subluxation until at least the start of the new year. Yet he, like [Anthony] Davis, was so brilliant prior to getting injured that excluding him from a starting spot just feels wrong.
If Curry’s return timeline is longer than expected, another West guard will deserve consideration. For now, Steph’s case is just too strong to deny.