The Warriors' starting five were already very familiar to the fans.
Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Green, and Bogut—this very lineup had led the Warriors to 66 wins and the top of the Western Conference.
More precisely, they were still one step away from the top of the West. But in the eyes of Warriors fans, that step was not far off.
As for the Grizzlies, their starting lineup consisted of Link, Butler, Iguodala, Harris, and Gasol.
Conley remained sidelined by injury, while Link continued to play point guard.
On paper, the Grizzlies' starting lineup was still very formidable. But their biggest problem now was that severe injury trouble had left them with extremely limited depth.
There were only four players on the Grizzlies' bench who could take the court: Dellavedova, Tony Allen, Whiteside, and Ezeli.
The injuries to Carter and Conley had made it difficult for the Grizzlies' perimeter rotation to hold up. The two and three spots had originally been the Grizzlies' deepest positions, but after Link was moved to point guard, the Grizzlies effectively lost another option at the two or three.
The four available bench players were not weak, but their shortcomings were obvious—they had virtually no self-created offense and were strong defensively but weak offensively.
Dellavedova, Tony Allen, Ezeli, and Whiteside were all defensive-minded players. When it came to offense, each was rougher than the last.
That was why Link often had to be shifted around to fill holes, resulting in enormous wear and tear on him in March and April.
That was why, despite still having a strong-looking starting lineup, the Grizzlies had been pushed into this situation by the Warriors.
It had to be said that injuries truly were a team's greatest enemy.
Although injuries had severely damaged the Grizzlies' overall structure, fans still believed