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A couple of things happened this week to remind us that we’re watching the NBA playoffs, not Throwaway Thursday hoops in February. First, the Golden State Warriors, with a chance to close out the Grizzlies and get ready for the Western Conference Finals, went into Memphis and got absolutely obliterated — this by a Grizz team playing without its injured star, Ja Morant.
It was hideous. Or it was beautiful. The Grizzlies play so smart and so hard, qualities that can get glossed over when people are freaking out about Morant’s otherworldly athleticism and his penchant for high flying. But the reality is that Memphis went 20-5 during the regular season in games in which Morant did not play. The Grizzlies are plain old good.
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