Entertainment

Golden State Warriors Take The Lead In The NBA Weastern Confrence Semifinals 3 to 2 Against The Memphis Grizzlies

Published

11 years ago

May 15, 2015

By Sir William G. McCray, ObnoxiousTV

The Golden State Warriors won the all-important Game 5 over the Memphis Grizzlies 98-78 on Wednesday night.

It was some star power in the Oracle cheering for the Warriors with a few of the Oakland Radiers in the building and Floyd Mayweather. The World Champ was booed we shown on the screen and presence announced due his refusing to sport the Golden State t-shirt when offered.

2014-15 NBA MVP Stephen Curry scored 18 points, all on three-pointers, but it was Klay Thompson who led the Warriors with 21 points.

Zach Randolph had 11 points in the first quarter, but the suffocating Warriors defense limited him the rest of the way, and Randolph finished with 13 points.

The series returns to the “Grindhouse” in Memphis for Game 6 on Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Early on it looked as if it would be a long night for the Warriors, the way Memphis forward Zach Randolph made everything he hoisted. The Grizzlies were humming in the first quarter.

Then it all stopped. Memphis came to California and got caught up in a drought. The Warriors’ 3-point barrage stole the show Wednesday. But the Warriors won Game 5 comfortably, 98-78, because their defense was off-the-charts good.

After the first quarter, the Warriors shut down the Grizzlies. In the second and third quarters combined, Memphis totaled 32 points on 31.1 percent shooting. The Grizzlies looked helpless. They couldn’t buy a bucket if Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. was paying. And he might’ve wanted to help the Grizzlies the way Warriors fans booed him in his courtside seat Wednesday.

Warriors head to Game 6 in Memphis on Friday with a chance to close out the series because the defense has turned the tide of the series. But this was the reality all along. Memphis bottled up the Warriors in Games 2 and 3. But as long as the Warriors score 100 points, the Grizzlies can’t win.

After Game 4, Memphis coach Dave Joerger concluded his team would have to score 100 points at some point. But if the Warriors are defending like they did in Game 5, he can forget about it.

“I think I said the first couple of games our defense was good enough,” Steve Kerr noted after his team held Memphis to 1.6 points per minute. “I was wrong. It wasn’t good enough. This is what it’s going to take, this kind of defense.”

In Game 4, the Warriors used a gimmick to slow the Grizzlies. The Warriors had Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green each defend the Grizzlies’ worst shooter, Tony Allen, which allowed them to help in the paint. But Allen missed Wednesday’s game with a strained hamstring. The Warriors switched back to a straight-up defense and still frustrated the Grizzlies’ offense.

While the attention was focused on the Warriors drilling nine first-half 3-pointers, it was the defense that seized control. A nearly four-minute scoring drought by Memphis in the second quarter helped the Warriors push the lead from four to 12. Then Memphis was held to one basket over a three-minute stretch in the third quarter that bubbled the Warriors’ advantage from 10 to 17.

The Warriors’ plan, which began in Game 3, is three-fold. First, and it’s key, is ball pressure from the guards. Klay Thompson switched over to Mike Conley, and the Memphis point guard hasn’t been the same since. But also, Shaun Livingston and Stephen Curry are ballhawking aggressively, taking a page from the Grizzlies.

The second component: the Warriors are doubling, or at least aggressively helping, when Randolph and Marc Gasol get the ball inside. Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes — along with David Lee off the bench — are working to stay in front of Gasol and Randolph in the post. Even when the Grizzlies’ bigs do get the ball, they aren’t nearly as deep thanks to the Warriors’ forwards holding their ground.

Once Gasol and Randolph get the ball, Andrew Bogut is coming over to protect the rim and a guard– mostly Curry, who finished with a playoff career-high six steals — is collapsing down to swipe at the ball. And even when the players are left one-on-one, Green has done a much better job of contesting. He’s learned some of their moves and is taking away their first options.

That leads to point No. 3. With all the pressure, the Warriors are hoping Memphis’ post players dish the ball back outside. And the Warriors are going all out to chase them off the 3-point line or contest their shots.

After scoring 11 points in the first quarter, Randolph finished with 13. Gasol needed 22 shots to get 18 points. Memphis finished with just 30 points in the paint and went 4 of 15 from 3-point range.

“This unit is very dynamic because we’ve been together for a year so we can kind of understand each other,” Andre Iguodala said. “Just the way we’re moving out there and we’re all in sync. It’s hard to really describe.”

It was the kind of defensive performance that reminded viewers why the Warriors can actually be champions.

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Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

Published

1 day ago

October 4, 2026

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From Historic Memories to New Possibilities: Oakland Celebrates Coliseum 60

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, September 18, for Coliseum 60, an event marking six decades of sports, entertainment, employment, and community memories at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex. Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum first opened, the celebration featured cultural performances and a mini-documentary highlighting its history. Speakers reflected on the venue’s significant role in the community and its future possibilities. Read more to learn about the individuals and stories honored during this special event.

Published

1 week ago

September 27, 2026

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Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE moderates a panel discussion at the Coliseum 60 celebration at Youth UpRising featuring Keith Brown, a member of IATSE Local 107; author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; and African American Sports and Entertainment Group President Ray Bobbitt.

By Carla Thomas

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, Sept. 18, for Coliseum 60, a celebration honoring six decades of sports, entertainment, employment and community memories connected to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.

Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum opened, the event carried the theme, “One Community. One Legacy. One Future. Forward Together.”

The celebration opened with the national anthem performed by sisters Anese Jade, Amina Benjamin and Zaza Benjamin. Diamano Coura West African Dance Company contributed African dance and drumming, bringing movement, rhythm and cultural expression to the program.

A mini documentary highlighted the Coliseum’s sports history and its broader role as an entertainment destination. Archival material recalled performances by Prince and Tina Turner, along with memorable games featuring the Warriors, Oakland A’s and Raiders.

“The Coliseum 60 is about much more than celebrating a building or looking back at 60 years of history,” said event organizer Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE.

“It’s about the people who made that history possible: the families, workers, athletes, artists, community leaders, fans and generations who gathered there and created memories together.”

A panel exploring that history featured author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; stagehand and union representative Keith Brown; and Ray Bobbitt, president of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group AASEG. Lewis described her family as fourth-generation Bay Area pioneers.

“My family and Black families who arrived even earlier helped build the Bay Area, grew businesses and established culture here,” Lewis said. “This should be taught in the public schools.”

Lewis recalled Oakland’s influence on sports, music and literature, from the Raiders’ beginnings at Laney College to stars such as The Pointer Sisters and Rickey Henderson who attended Oakland public schools. She also advocated for school museums, historical timelines, entrepreneurship training and investments benefiting corridors such as Bancroft Avenue and High Street.

Keith Brown, a member of Local 107 of the International Alliance of Theater and Stage Employees (IATSE) who began working at the Coliseum in 2011, remembered the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Ice Capades, baseball bat giveaways and Nelson Mandela’s 1990 appearance.

“The special events are amazing, but it’s the workers that make the memories real for everyone,” Brown said. “They make the magic happen at the Coliseum.”

The program recognized longtime workers, including beer-stand manager Robert Preston, who served for 40 years, and Kenyatta Gentry, who worked as a vendor for 24 years and used her earnings to purchase her first apartment. Union workers Jose Gonzales and Carmen Sandoval were also honored. Speakers emphasized that Coliseum employment provided generations of residents with union wages and benefits.

Dr. Denise Saddler, the superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) was also honored. Saddler shared her family’s history of working at the Coliseum.

District 7 Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston discussed the complex ownership arrangements involving the city, county and private interests.

“This was the most complex deal of its kind in the country,” Houston said.

Prior to moving from the East Coast, Alameda County Supervisor and Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Chair Nate Miley recalled learning about Oakland through its three professional sports teams. As an elected official and public servant, Miley fought hard to keep the Golden State Warriors, Oakland As, and the Raiders, but he is hopeful for the future.

“The story is not over for the Coliseum,” Miley said. “We’re entering a new chapter.”

Bobbitt said the departure of three teams had once seemed unimaginable, but he maintained that Oakland’s future remains bright.

“Oakland is a cultural superpower worldwide,” Bobbitt said. “We’re going to write the future where we participate and drive the redevelopment.”

Bobbitt highlighted AASEG’s four-year partnership with Castlemont High School’s architecture program, which engages students in reimagining and creating redevelopment concepts for the Coliseum property. “The youth will always move us forward. They are the future.”

In closing, Atkins said, “September 18 is the celebration, but what we build together afterward is the legacy.”