The 2021 play-in game was rough. Despite a near 40-spot from Steph, the Warriors were taken to overtime and eventually eliminated by the Memphis Grizzlies, who would take over as the 8th seed in the playoffs only to get reverse-swept by the Utah Jazz after stealing game one. To the Grizz’s credit, Ja Morant was phenomenal in the play-in, almost single-handedly willing his team to victory.

Granted, last season it didn’t take much to overcome an underwhelming Warriors squad that was carried by Curry’s late-season brilliance to even compete in the play-in. To say he put the team on his back is an understatement: The role players did not fit, Draymond played well but not nearly as well as this season or the 15-16 seasons, and much of the season was spent in limbo between going for another selling season or contending for playoff spots.

Thankfully, this season’s goals are a lot easier to tell.

Last night, the Grizzlies put up a solid fight. Ja Morant put up 21 points, sinking 9-of-10 free throws after being held to a subpar shooting night by primarily Gary Payton II. Dillon Brooks, the alleged “Curry stopper” (even though he had 39 dropped on his head by the scoring champ in that game) had some flashes of being a good defender despite deserved foul trouble.

But of course, as these things often go, Steph was just better. He had a very efficient 46 points, including 8 triples on the game and 13 points in the 4th quarter to close out a Memphis squad that took awhile to go away. The Warriors were missing two of their leading scorers in Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins due to the NBA’s Covid health and safety protocols, as well as some solid shooting from Damion Lee. Naturally, that didn’t matter as the MVP favorite did what he does best: Punk the league’s best and remind us all why he’s top-10 all time.

Last night’s performance also included a stat-stuffing, defensively-terrifying performance from Warriors heart-and-soul Draymond Green, who was everywhere against Memphis. Green talked in the post-game about how this game was personal for him after last year’s play-in, where he missed the game-winning floater by a decent bit that would eventually send the Dubs to their overtime doom.

“This was a team that beat us in the play-in game last year and then came in and beat us on our floor in a game that we let get away earlier this year” Green told the media postgame. “I was a little more riled up this game because it was a very important game.”

This quote by Green, in context, is talking about a mistake Gary Payton II made defensively on a switch to Ja Morant that Draymond called him out for. The Young Glove was phenomenal last night on both ends of the floor, and plenty of it was largely in part to Green’s encouragement. Payton II was the only other Warrior scoring in double figures with 22, shooting the laces off the ball (a trend that is thankfully becoming more and more common as he develops).

The Warriors still have two more games against the Grizzlies in the regular season. With the season series at 1-1, anything is possible. It’s entirely possible the Dubs see this team in the playoffs, and given how tough Memphis plays them, it’ll be important for the Warriors to remain composed. But with phenomenal games from Curry and Green becoming more consistent as the season goes on, they should have no problem with the Grizzlies at full strength.

(Photo credit: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)