Grizzlies Take on the Warriors in Western Conference Play-in-Tournament
Well, after what has been a chaotic last few weeks, the NBA regular season has officially come to an end which means the Play-in-Tournament is upon us. While eight teams will battle it out across two conferences for the last remaining playoff spots, the headline game will occur tomorrow night at 10 p.m. EST as the Memphis Grizzlies take on the Golden State Warriors. As per Play-in-Tournament rules, the winner of this matchup will secure the seventh seed in the Western Conference Playoffs whilst the loser will await the winner of the nine-ten matchup. This second game will serve as a win-or-go-home game for the last spot in the 2025 Playoffs.
For this Tuesday night bout, the matchup will serve as the latest chapter in the growing rivalry between the Grizzlies and Warriors. In the 2021 season, the Grizzlies knocked off the Warriors in the Play-in-Tournament to secure the final spot in the 2021 Playoffs. Then, just a year later, the Warriors and Grizzlies faced off in the second round of the 2022 Playoffs, a series in which the Warriors won 4-2 en route to their fourth title in eight years. Needless to say, these teams have a little bit of beef and history towards one another.
As for the two teams in particular, both teams enter the game with a record of 48-34. This mark stands just a game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the coveted sixth seed. The Memphis Grizzlies come into this game having won four of their last six games including a 35-point blowout win against the Dallas Mavericks without their star Ja Morant. Meanwhile, the Warriors, despite their initial success upon adding their newest star player Jimmy Butler, have lost three of their last five games including a pivotal overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last night locking in their Play-in-Tournament berth.
Grizzlies’ forward Lamar Stevens, following his 31-point night against the Mavericks, expressed his confidence in his team going forward saying, “Regardless of who we were going to play, I think that we got a big chip on our shoulder with something to prove. I think a lot of people are counting us out, so we’re just excited to go there and play our game.” Grizzlies center Jaren Jackson Jr. commented as well about the upcoming game against the Warriors saying, “I feel like we match up well with them”. Needless to say, the Grizzlies seem at peace and even confident about their Tuesday night clash. Will this confidence translate to a win though? That is yet to be seen.
