Beale Street Bears
Fansided

Looking at how the Memphis Grizzlies match up with the Golden State Warriors

By Taylor Buckley

April 13, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) fouls Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Grizzlies 125-104. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
April 13, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) fouls Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Grizzlies 125-104. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next

Frontcourt

Nov 5, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11), forward Zach Randolph (50) and center Marc Gasol against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Grizzlies defeated the Suns 102-91. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11), forward Zach Randolph (50) and center Marc Gasol against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Grizzlies defeated the Suns 102-91. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

With the Warriors you know their strength is their backcourt. With the Grizzlies, they don’t necessarily have a bad back court, they actually have a decent one, but their strength has always been their front court bigs, Zbo and Gasol. But is it enough to thump the Warriors?

Scoring

Both Gasol and Randolph both average over 15 points per game, part of the reason it makes them so devastating. They both know how to work an opponent in the paint leading to easy scoring chances. With Draymond and his new front court pairing, Zaza, the scoring doesn’t come quite as easy. As good as Draymond was last year scoring the ball, Zaza negates all of it. Last season Zaza averaged only 8.6 points a game, which is right in line with Draymond’s career average of 8.7 points a game. No-Brainer.

ADVANTAGE: Zbo and Gasol.

Rebounding.

This one is a little closer than the scoring section. While both Randolph and Gasol are solid rebounders, averaging 7.8 and 7 rebounds a game last year respectively, Green and Zaza are just a little better. With the Warriors’ front court almost averaging 10 rebounds a game each last year, they beat the Grizzlies front court by a fraction this time.

ADVANTAGE: Draymond and Zaza

Defense.

It’s pretty hard to pick against a perennial DPOTY candidate in Draymond, even if he is paired with one of the worst defensive centers in the game. Last season Draymond averaged 1.4 steals AND blocks a game, while Zaza only managed 0.3 blocks and 0.8 steals per game. But on the Grizzlies, side you have the 2013 DPOTY, Marc Gasol, who anchors the “Grit and Grind” brand of defense. It’s close, but the pairing of Gasol and Randolph narrowly beat out Green and Zaza.

ADVANTAGE: Randolph and Gasol

The Verdict.

This one was pretty easy in my opinion, the front court of Gasol and Zbo is too much for the Warriors. The Memphis big men will exploit the hole Zaza leaves in the Warriors’ front court.

Overall Advantage: Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.

Next: The Final Verdict

Home/Grizzlies News