OAKLAND – Not even Memphis center Marc Gasol disputes that the Warriors have more firepower than his own club. The teams begin their Western Conference Semifinal series with Game 1 on Sunday afternoon on Golden State’s home court.
That doesn’t mean Gasol is counting his team out, however. According to the 30-year-old, the Portland Trail Blazers possess more scoring weapons on their roster than Memphis, too, but the Grizzlies dispatched them fairly easily in a five-game first round series victory.
“I always thought that we have to work harder than the other team because we don’t have as much talent as the other team, as far as scoring-wise,” Gasol said. “I feel like we really have to outwork the other team, and be more physical than the other team because of how much talent they have.
Gasol indicated that the Grizzlies, who practiced Saturday afternoon at Oracle Arena, would have to slow the game down in order to have a chance.
“If we try to shoot 3's with them, it’s not going to be good for us,” Gasol said. “But, we’re going to play our game, and I’m confident with our guys that have been through it for a while. We have to pull them down to the mud and keep them there, which is not easy. They run around a lot.”
Coach Dave Joerger echoed his big man.
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“We need to keep the game slowed down and as close as possible, and try to put as much pressure on as many of their jumps shots as we can,” Joerger said. “Getting to the foul line would be huge for us. Getting the ball to the paint and the rim is going to be huge for us, because it will help set our defense.”
The Warriors are heavy favorites, especially with guard Mike Conley’s status for the series in doubt due to a facial injury. Golden State has not played since April 26, when it completed a four-game sweep of New Orleans.
The elder statesman on Memphis’ roster, Vince Carter indicated that shouldn’t change his team’s mindset.
“I’ve never understood saying ‘oh yeah, you guys are the favorites.’ Or, ‘now you come in and you guys are underdogs.’ Why should that change our approach?” Carter said.
“We’re still playing to win. We’re playing for a trophy. That doesn’t matter. What matters is us coming in and being who we are, having an attack mentality, and Memphis Grizzlies basketball on our minds. Don’t get caught up into their style of play.”
Carter admitted that the Warriors are going to make their runs in front of a raucous home crowd. How the Grizzlies deal with that adversity will be key to trying to at least split the first two games of the series before it shifts back to Tennessee.
“It’s being able to take a punch and still fight back,” Carter said. “That’s the most important thing. Can we continue to be who we are, when you get down and in a deficit and it’s loud in here, how do we respond? Are we going to stick to who we are, or are we going to try to be someone we’re not?
Tony Allen said the Grizzlies will “just continue to do the things that got us success. That’s playing hard, defense, pounding the ball inside out, and playing for each other. We continue to do that, I like our chances.”