The Golden State Warriors went to Memphis on Wednesday night expecting a coronation, but instead of being crowned they got clowned. The Grizzlies scored the first five points of the game in less than a minute, never trailed, led by as many as 55 points, and defeated the Warriors 134-95 in a game that was not as close as the final score may suggest; this was a "name the number" game: the Grizzlies could have won by 40, 50, or 60 points if they had so desired. Ja Morant missed his second straight game due to a bone bruise in his knee that will reportedly keep him out of action for the rest of the playoffs, and the Grizzlies again demonstrated--as they did throughout the regular season--that they are much more than a one man team. No Memphis player played more than 25 minutes, but seven scored in double figures, led by three players who had 21 points each (Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Tyus Jones). Steven Adams had a game-high 13 rebounds as the Grizzlies annihilated the Warriors 55-37 on the boards. Adams missed four straight playoff games due to a combination of COVID-19 and also the coaching staff deciding to play small, but he had 15 rebounds in 27 minutes as the Grizzlies led for most of game four before blowing it at the end, and he was similarly dominant in the paint in game five.
Shooting may not travel, but defense and rebounding do travel. The Grizzlies are big, they are physical, and they play excellent defense. They have matchup advantages against Golden State, and they have a chance to win this series even without Morant.
Perhaps that last sentence sounds bizarre or even crazy because of Golden State's "Death Lineup" and "championship DNA," so keep in mind that the nucleus of this team--with all of their vaunted "championship DNA"--blew a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals. The popular perceptions of this series do not match up with reality. The "Death" in the Warriors' "Death Lineup" was mostly provided by two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant, who also provided two thirds of the Warriors' three championships; the only other title came at the expense of a Cleveland team missing two of their three All-Stars, the same Cleveland team that--when healthy--beat the Warriors in the 2016 Finals.
Isn't a big part of "championship DNA" winning a series as quickly as possible to conserve energy and avoid injuries? Either the Warriors' "championship DNA" is missing a few strands, or these teams are more evenly matched than the "experts" suspect.
Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 19 points on 7-12 field goal shooting, but he also had a staggering -45 plus/minus number. Jonathan Kuminga added 17 points. Two-time regular season MVP Stephen Curry scored 14 points, shot 4-10 from the field, did not score in the second half, and posted a tidy -37 plus/minus number. Draymond Green produced a "triple single" (five points, seven rebounds, five assists), and a -32 plus/minus number. Jordan Poole scored three points on 1-6 field goal shooting. The "Splash Brothers" trio of Curry, Thompson and Poole barely created a ripple.
The Warriors will play better in game six at home--they could hardly play worse--but any notion that this will be easy is false. The Grizzlies came within a missed layup at the buzzer of winning game one, and they outplayed the Warriors for the vast majority of game four; the 3-2 margin in Golden State's favor could easily be 3-2 in Memphis' favor, and the Grizzlies are unlikely to show up for game six just happy to be there: the Grizzlies will play hard, and if just a little bit of their shooting travels with them they have a legitimate opportunity to bring this series back to Memphis for game seven, which could provide a great test of what exactly is in Golden State's "championship DNA" when Durant is not around to save the day.