How the Warriors plan to flush their Game 5 blowout loss
Warriors' toughest test so far in NBA playoffs may be learning and
moving on to Game 6 vs. Grizzlies
>MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE -MAY 11: Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson and
Stephen Curry watch as the Memphis Grizzlies ice the game in the third
quarter of Game 5 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series at
FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (Karl
Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
>MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE -MAY 11: Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson and
Stephen Curry watch as the Memphis Grizzlies ice the game in the third
quarter of Game 5 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series at
FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (Karl
Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 12, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. | UPDATED: May 12, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/05/12/how-the-warriors-plan-to-flush-how-game-5-blowout-loss/

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Late in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s
embarrassing blowout loss, Memphis fans chanted “Whoop that trick!” as
the Grizzlies’ unofficial anthem blared from the FedExForum speakers.

The Warriors, who accepted defeat midway through the third quarter when
they pulled their stars, couldn’t help but take in the spirited scene.
After all, the Grizzlies were doing just that – whooping Golden State,
who trailed by as many as 55 points in the second half to force Game 6
of the Western Conference semifinals matchup. Stephen Curry smiled, and
Draymond Green even encouraged the crowd, waving his towel to the cheers.

“They are not going to ‘whoop that trick’ alone, we’re going to ‘whoop
that trick’ together if we’re gonna whoop that trick,” Green said after
the Grizzlies’ 134-95 romp. “We got our a– kicked, and that’s all right.
It happens, but you don’t be a front runner. When you spew it out you
got to be willing to take it and not hide from it, not duck from it and
not run from it. Embrace it. I appreciated the crowd tonight and the
energy that they brought to the game.”

At shootaround, Curry seemed to throw fuel on the fire under the
Grizzlies who were already playing with their backs against the wall,
facing elimination and without All-Star guard Ja Morant, who’s out with
a bone bruise in his right knee. Curry told ESPN that the team’s
mentality heading into Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals was
to “whoop that trick!”

His words ultimately came back to haunt him.

“In your face, Steph Curry!” Memphis-born rapper Al Kapone yelled into
the microphone as the chants continued.

“Obviously it didn’t pan out the way we wanted to,” Curry said following
the game. “We’re still in control of the series, but you’ve got to
understand it’s going to be really hard to close out this team because
they’re a really good team and if we need any more reminder of that, we
got it today.”

The Grizzlies delivered a 39-point beat down, the most lopsided result
by any team in this postseason, to send the series back to San Francisco
with the Warriors leading the best-of-seven series, three games to two.

After the game, acting head coach Mike Brown told the team it was “only
one game” and not to dwell on the defeat.

“We know we can play better,” said Brown, who has led the team the past
two games with head coach Stever Kerr out with COVID. “Our guys know
exactly what they did out there and they know what they can do to be
better the next time we step out on the floor but it’s one game don’t
get discouraged, don’t get down and we’re going to go back in front of
our home fans and see if we can get this done.”

It was the second-worst playoff loss the Warriors have experienced
during their championship era, surpassed only by when the Los Angeles
Clipper beat them by 40 in Game 2 of the 2014 Western Conference
first-round series. Curry seemingly blacked out that loss from his
memory. He didn’t initially recall that game when asked about it.

Here’s hoping the Warriors will have that same amnesia following the
Game 5 disaster that Klay Thompson called “awful” and “embarrassing.”

The Warriors have shown resilience throughout this season as they
battled through various injuries to the team’s core players, but
bouncing back from Game 5 might be their biggest test yet.

“We just have to forget this game,” said Nemanja Bjelica, who started
the second half in place of Otto Porter Jr., who missed the remainder of
the game with foot soreness. “There is not much to say after this loss.
We still have an advantage, I don’t want to say we underestimated them,
but we weren’t ready to play tonight. We just have to forget this game.
Since Ja Morant got hurt, they changed the lineups. We have to adjust
some things. We are still up 3-2, and we can close the series at home.”

In general, the Warriors’ mood didn’t seem to be as down as one would
expect after what most would consider a demoralizing loss. Brown talked
about flushing this win like how one would in the bathroom.

“You just kind of grab the switch and push it down and then just close
down the toilet, and it’s kind of how we’re going to do this,” Brown
said. “We’re going to watch the film and try to learn and grow from it.
But at the end of the day, like I said, our guys, they understood what
happened out there. So there’s no need to overreact.”

>RELATED ARTICLES
The Warriors have problems; here are the solutions
Photos: Golden State Warriors sing the Memphis blues during epic loss
to the Grizzlies in Game 5
Kurtenbach: The deeper meaning behind the Warriors’ embarrassing Game
5 loss
Careless mistakes, lack of aggression led to Warriors’ ’embarrassing’
Game 5 loss in Memphis
Lifeless Warriors embarrassed in blowout Game 5 loss

Heading into this series, Kerr stressed the importance of winning the
rebound battle and taking better care of the ball. Golden State has
outrebounded the Grizzlies in every game except Game 5, when Memphis
grabbed 55 boards to the Warriors’ 37. Turnovers have been another
story. In five games, the Warriors areaveraging 18 to the Grizzlies’
11.8. Wednesday, they had more turnovers in the first half (14) than
Memphis tallied in the entire game (9).

The Warriors also need to address the slow starts that have hampered
them the last three games. That could be handled by changing the opening
lineup and replacing Jonathan Kuminga, who has looked lost defensively
and a step behind offensively during his last three starts in place of
the injured Gary Payton II.

If the Warriors learned anything from Game 5, it’s that they cannot
again afford to underestimate the desperation of this young and hungry
Memphis team.

“It’s the playoffs, you’ve got to be prepared for anything,” Curry said.
“We’re still in control of the series. We go home, protect our home
court like we’ve done all playoffs… We have to understand the
adjustments we have to make in terms of our physicality, protecting the
ball, valuing possessions and we’ll be in good shape.”