Considering the experiences from last season’s encounters, the Grizzlies and the Warriors could also be seen as destined rivals.
Moreover, UA’s two major spokespeople met early on, and UA was vigorously promoting the matchup.
But Curry has a mild personality, so the person still stealing the spotlight at this time was Green.
"We know they’re not at their best, and this is our perfect opportunity for revenge," Green said.
With his impressive playoff performance from the last season, Green’s standing within the Warriors had significantly improved, and now he was pretty much playing the role of the sixth man on the team.
Moreover, in addition to signing Iguodala in the summer, the Warriors also brought in Speights and Livingston, two former Grizzlies.
The Warriors’ lineup now consisted of starting guards Curry and Thompson, forwards Iguodala and David Lee, and center Bo Gote⊕ aside from Livingston, Harrison Barnes, Green, Speights, and Little O’Neal on the bench, making a very strong team.
Also, this season David Lee was healthy, and they had the former Grizzlies to provide strategic systems.
If it weren’t for Bo Gote ending his season with a rib fracture before the playoffs, Green’s words would have been filled with even more confidence.
Before Game 1, when reporters mentioned Green’s comments to Hansen, he replied,
"Boxers generally find a sparring partner to warm up before a real match, and they can certainly play that role well."
What’s the role of a leader among the haters?
It’s to allow Hansen to mobilize the haters to target him without even having to step onto the court.
Especially as his standing in the league continued to rise, he couldn’t publicly badmouth others like he used to—that would be beneath his dignity.
At times like these, the value of the leader among the haters becomes evident.
He initially groomed Pierce, and Pierce did a great job of getting Boston fans to criticize him.
Now, this important task had fallen upon Green.
The first game of the series started in Memphis, and it turned out to be much more intense than anticipated.
Or rather, unlike the previous season’s foreplay-like games against the Thunders, this was going straight to the point.
Which was exactly what Hansen wanted.
Stuff like hater value was just incidental; getting the team into championship mode early was what truly mattered.
Breaking out of The West this season wouldn’t be as easy as last; not only were they not in as good shape as last year, but as "historic" champions, the San Antonio Spurs’ integrated offense and defense meant that victory against the Grizzlies wouldn’t come as simply as it did last season.
The two teams were tied at 86 after three quarters.
Curry performed excellently, scoring 24 points with four 3-pointers in three quarters. Thıs content belongs to 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
And in the fourth quarter, during the bench rotation, the Warriors’ depth helped them gain an advantage, and by the time the starters returned, they were leading the Grizzlies by 5 points.
And that’s when Hansen started guarding Curry.
Jackson created a defensive system for the Warriors and devised many tactics, but his biggest problem was how he used Curry.
The NBA isn’t street basketball where anyone who gets the ball can just throw up shots.
Especially at the playoff level, under intense defense, most players can only make open shots and fast breaks, with scoring primarily relying on stars who can handle the ball.
Curry is a superb shooter who can handle a lot of ball responsibility, but his physical qualities mean he relies more on tactics than other stars.
Jackson’s failure to design more plays for Curry did not leverage Curry’s offensive talent.
Of course, this made Curry easier to defend as well.
After Hansen switched onto guarding Curry, just like in the regular season, Curry was completely shut down.
Curry only got two shooting opportunities in the entire fourth quarter, both highly difficult, and scored not a single point.
The Warriors’ offense also faltered in the fourth.
Thompson’s shooting is historically good, but without Curry’s distraction, his threat was significantly lessened.
Because of Curry’s nature, even Green dared to claim "Without me, Curry doesn’t work," and there’s a good chance Thompson will express similar sentiments if he leaves Curry in the future, but those are ultimately just comments to boost one’s own presence; the fact is that once Curry was contained, the Warriors’ offense virtually collapsed.
Of course, it wasn’t all bad.
David Lee had range and strong cutting ability, and his style was very effective against Randolph.
Last season, with Lee injured, the Warriors’ interior had no chance against the Grizzlies, but this season, a healthy Lee could still provide some answers in the paint.
However, those responses were not enough to win the game for the Warriors.
to 101, the Grizzlies took the home-court victory.
According to the post-game statistics, Curry scored 24 points, Lee had 18 points and 8 rebounds, Iguodala 18 points, Thompson contributed 14 points, and Green 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Hansen had 31 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals; Guy 17 points; Randolph 14 points and 10 rebounds; Little Gasol 14 points and 15 rebounds; Conley 11 points and 6 assists.
Although the Grizzlies ultimately won, it was clear that this Warriors team was strong.
If Bo Gote hadn’t been injured, they would have been the biggest disruptor in The West.
Two days later, the second game of the series continued in Memphis.
The Warriors tied the series with a 121 to 113 victory.
Curry showcased his basketball IQ in this game, transforming himself into a relentless off-ball mover, and not just for scoring, but to exhaust Hansen’s energy on the offensive end as much as possible.
Also, under his movement, the Grizzlies’ defensive formation visibly loosened.
The matter of style restraining is mutual; once the Grizzlies’ defense was truly mobilized, the slow defensive rotation of their two big men inside became an issue.