Memphis Grizzlies: 5 storylines to watch vs Golden State Warriors in second round of playoffs

No. 4: How long will Steven Adams and Ziaire Williams be out for the Memphis Grizzlies?

Usual starting center Steven Adams is in Health & Safety Protocols, a designation he received April 28— the day before Game 6 vs Minnesota.

Fortunately, the Grizzlies have found out how to play without Adams in the lineup, as the Big Kiwi got benched for poor play and being unable to keep up with Karl-Anthony Towns, and not being a real scoring threat on offense.

Rookie Ziaire Williams missed Game 6 in the first round with right knee soreness. He was originally listed as doubtful but was eventually downgraded to “out” before tip-off.

Will Williams be healthy enough to play in Game 1 vs the Warriors on Sunday? It’s not clear what his status is heading into the game. He’s likely day-to-day, but we probably won’t know more until just a couple of hours before game time.

Williams averaged just 11 minutes per game in the first round of the playoffs after averaging 21.7 minutes per game during the regular season.

No. 5: Can the Memphis Grizzlies play a full 48 minutes of good basketball?

The Grizzlies were in a habitual state of being behind in the first round of the playoffs. Entering Game 6, Memphis held the lead for just 26.1% of the total minutes played in the series.

The Grizzlies need to do a better job of getting off to a good start and maintaining that lead. The team is more than capable of coming from behind to win games, but it takes a heavy toll to do so.

Morant has had to will himself in the fourth quarter of many a Grizzlies playoff game in order to secure a win. Will he or anyone else be able to do that against Golden State— a team that knows what it takes to close out playoff games?