The Memphis Grizzlies look every bit like a team on a path to an NBA title in the coming years. They have the superstar player in Ja Morant, great role players and fits around him such as Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks, plus a team culture and bond that is rare around the league.
These playoffs ended up being a learning experience for the Grizzlies, sprinkled with a little bad luck in the Morant injury. After the Warriors eliminated the Grizzlies on Friday, Brooks talked about the future in Memphis — and took a little dig at Golden State along the way.
“We’re young, they’re getting old, so they know we’re coming every single year,” Brooks said, via the Associated Press.
Stephen Curry, who otherwise had nothing but praise for the Grizzlies, said this in response to Brooks, via Sam Amick of The Athletic.
“He’s said a lot of crazy things,” Curry told The Athletic with a smile while glancing at nearby cameras from NBA TV. “He called himself a dynasty already, so you’ve got to figure. On to the next round. Western Conference finals, we’re back.”
Curry and all the Warriors had nothing but respect and praise for the Grizzlies.
“I have a lot of respect for every single guy on the team in terms of how they’re built as a group, the individual talent, they have a lot of energy, a lot of potential in terms of winning at the highest level,” Curry said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “They were the higher seed for a reason, they had an amazing regular season and dominated throughout the course of those 82 games.
“But for us to come out of this series with a (win), there’s definitely respect, definitely an understanding that they made us better, I’m sure we made them better and who knows what happens down the road, but they’ll be here for a long time just because they have a lot going for them. Definitely respect.”
“That’s a group of young guys that are hungry, they are talented, they are athletic. They got it,” Draymond Green said. “You know, it will good to see their progression over these next few years and where they can take it because that’s an incredible young team. You know, they can be special. They can be really special.”
They can be. They are on that path. This loss will help them grow and get there.
But let’s hope Bane and his teammates do not lose that edge.
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Dillon Brooks on Warriors: “We’re young, they’re getting old, so they know we’re coming every single year” originally appeared on NBCSports.com
