NBA: What Western Conference Teams Could Beat The Golden State Warriors?
By Drew Clark
3) Memphis Grizzlies
**Health permitting**
Last year, Memphis rolled out lineups that could be comparable to junior varsity squads to the talent on opposing teams. When Lance Stephenson is the best player on your team some nights, there are problems.
That is in the past as Memphis is moving into the small-ball era with new head coach David Fizdale taking over. If they can stay healthy and produce at the same high-level as before, the Grizzlies pose as a threat to the Warriors.
New looks to the roster include Chandler Parson at small forward giving the team a legitimate shooter. Zach Randolph will come off the bench in favor of JaMychal Green at power forward. The injuries last season benefited Green, as it allowed a more in-depth look at him. Apparently, Fizdale saw something he liked.
The Mike Conley contract drew a lot of negative attention to the organization in the off-season. He’s an integral part of this team so I believe he fully deserves the money he received.
Although Fizdale wants to implement pace-and-space, slowing it down to their style might be the best recipe to compete with Golden State. Marc Gasol can abuse any small-ball lineup in the post on offense, but could get scary on the other end. Randolph will be limited to certain stretches, but is a formidable scorer off the bench and could be a nice threat if used correctly.
Play your own game and rebounding are usually the Memphis special so a seven game series between the Warriors and Grizzlies could be fun to watch play out.