Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
One of my all-time favorite songs is “Blame It On The Boogie”, a song made famous by Michael Jackson, though actually written by a guy named Mick Jackson. The lyrics to the chorus of this song are “Don’t blame it on the sunshine. Don’t blame it on the moonlight. Don’t blame it on the good times. Blame it on the boogie.” For some reason this song came to my mind when I was trying to find a good way to articulate what has happened so far in this series.
The Grizzlies have a 2-1 series lead and have dominated the Warriors for two consecutive games, but for whatever reason people are trying to find excuses for the Warriors that don’t give credit to the Grizzlies. So, if I may, I would like to alter the lyrics of this song to read “Don’t blame it on the jump shot. Don’t blame it on the bad night. Don’t blame it on some good luck. Blame it on the Grizzlies.”
If Warriors fans are going to complain about how frustrated they are, they should blame it on the Grizzlies. If analysts are going to discuss why Stephen Curry is having a hard time getting into a rhythm, they should blame it on the Grizzlies. If Steve Kerr is going to discuss why his team is struggling, he needs to blame it on the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies simply aren’t getting the respect they deserve and it is starting to annoy me. Perhaps part of it has to do with the fact that I live in the Bay Area and I’m surrounded by confused Warriors fans who live in a reality where everything goes the Warriors’ way. I can’t totally blame them since it has certainly all gone the Warriors’ way up until this point. But all the same, I feel like telling these people the Warriors are struggling because they are facing a Grizzlies team that plays good defense, slows the game down, and bangs in the post.
The Grizzlies’ grind it out style of basketball that is played from the inside out is supposed to give the Warriors trouble, but for whatever reason, nobody wants to acknowledge this once it actually starts to take effect. People want to say that Stephen Curry is feeling the pressure of being the MVP, that the Warriors had a bad shooting night, and that the Warriors simply haven’t been tested yet.
How about acknowledging that Mike Conley has been heroic? How about acknowledging that Tony Allen has been the best defensive player in this series? How about giving Dave Joerger credit for coming up with a quality game plan to rattle the Warriors? How about simply admitting that through three games, the Grizzlies have been the better team?
Refusing to give the Grizzlies any credit for what has happened in this series is flat-out disrespectful to a veteran team that has plenty of playoff experience. The Grizzlies have a game plan and have executed it well. I’m tired of hearing the excuses from the Warriors’ end because it’s all rubbish. The Grizzlies are leading this series because they have earned it. It’s that simple.