The Warriors were able to win despite the fact that Draymond Green was sent off in the second quarter for a blatant foul that the referees considered to be outrageous enough to eliminate him. Without Green for the second half, Golden State had to dig deep and was able to do just that. Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 31 points, nine assists and eight rebounds from the bench. Steve Carey had 24 points and four assists and Andrew Wiggins added 17 points and eight rebounds. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, received significant contributions from their two young stars. Ja Morant was the top scorer with 34 points with 10 assists and nine rebounds, and Jaren Jackson Jr. was the top scorer. made a double-double with 33 points and 10 rebounds. In the end, however, their combined production was not enough to push Memphis to a Game 1 victory. The Grizzlies will now have to regroup and try to return to Game 2 on Tuesday night. Before moving on to this game, however, here are four options from Golden State winning Game 1.
1. Poole party
Poole was Golden State’s best player on Sunday afternoon and his production was a key factor in their victory. Steve Kerr chose not to start Poole, but that did not reduce his overall playing time as he ended up playing a high level of 38 minutes in the game. In those 38 minutes, Poole lost 31 points in 12-of-20 shots from the floor and also grabbed eight rebounds. Aside from scoring, Poole’s playmaking was also huge for the Warriors, as his nine assists were also team. Poole’s presence makes the Warriors particularly dangerous this post-season, and you understand exactly why in Game 1. None of the Curry, Klay Thompson or Green had a particularly great game and in the past the Warriors would probably have lost such a competition. . But now Poole was there to make up for the trio of star games. Without him, the Warriors would have dropped this. Ultimately, it does not matter if Poole starts or not, as long as he counts significant minutes and helps his team win.
2. Morant and Jackson write history for the Grizzlies
Memphis did not win, but the young star of the duo Morand and Jackson wrote some important franchise history as they became the first pair of teammates in Grizzlies history to score 30 points each in a playoff game. It’s a pretty impressive feat given the Grizzlies’ talent on their roster in the past. The bad news for Memphis is obviously that it could not win even with Morand and Jackson making history. Going forward, the Grizzlies will need a little more than the rest of the roster.
3. Kerr strengthens her resume after the season
Kerr is no stranger to post-season basketball, and most importantly, he is no stranger to winning the post-season. With Golden State winning the first game, Kerr climbed to ninth on the NBA all-time list of 82 wins, beating KC Jones in the process. Kerr now has seven wins behind Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who is the eighth ever. It may be difficult for Kerr to reach the Spoelstra this post-season, as the Spoelstra’s Heat also continue to play, but Kerr certainly has a real chance of rising to the top five before all is said and done.
4. New talent in full appearance
The young NBA talent appeared in full in Game 1. Three players in the game scored more than 30 points (Morand, Jackson and Poole) and three of these guys are 22 years old. This marks the first time in NBA season that three players aged 22 or under have all scored 30 points in the same game. With players like Morant, Jackson and Poole, the league is clearly in good hands moving forward.
