On the surface, the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies are in situations that couldn’t be any more of polar opposites.
The Warriors are 11th in the Western Conference and are scrambling to recover from an early season nightmare of a start, considering that they just came off of their fourth NBA Championship in eight years under the Steve Kerr regime. Their offense (112.9 ORTG, 15th) is middling, their defense (113.8 DRTG, 23rd) is struggling, and they are without their franchise superstar and premier two-way wing.
On the other hand, things couldn’t be any better for the Grizzlies: 11th on offense, the fourth-stingiest defensive team, and possessing the fifth-best point differential in the league.