The Warriors and the Grizzlies might not be rivals, per se, but they certainly don’t like each other.
Dillon Brooks didn’t even try to hide that fact in a recent response to ESPN's Tim Keown, who told the Memphis forward that he and Golden State star Draymond Green "play a similar game."
"I don't like Draymond at all," Brooks told Keown. "I just don't like Golden State. I don't like anything to do with them. Draymond talks a lot. Gets away with a lot, too. His game is cool -- with Golden State -- but if you put him anywhere else, you're not going to know who Draymond is.
"He plays with heart, plays hard, knows the ins and outs of their defense. I guess that's why they like him over there."
Per Keown, Green was asked if he wanted to respond to Brooks' comments. Instead, he laughed and "chose to pass on the opportunity to respond."
The next "Draymond Green Show" podcast might be a different story, though.
The beef, which both teams deny is a rivalry despite all the tension, dates to a fiery second-round playoff matchup last season. The series was six intense games of technicals, ejections, suspensions, flagrant fouls and, perhaps most notably, Gary Payton II breaking his elbow on a hard foul by Brooks.
The Warriors won, though the Grizzlies never stopped talking about it.
Players from both sides even exchanged back-and-forths on Twitter. And after the Warriors won their fourth NBA championship in eight seasons, there was plenty to say.
The next time the teams faced each other was on Christmas Day at Chase Center. It was a December basketball game, but tensions were high, like it was the playoffs.
And again, the Grizzlies couldn't put their money where their mouth was.
With Steph Curry sidelined, Brooks said he wanted to match up with Klay Thompson because the Splash Bro talked "a little smack" as the Grizzlies were booted in the playoffs. Brooks got what he wanted, and it was too much for him to handle in the Warriors' 123-109 win. Golden State racked up a whopping six technicals in the game, one called on Thompson for standing over a fallen Brooks and taunting him.
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Thompson said after the game that it was just some "good, old-fashioned trash talk" and didn't believe it warranted a technical. Brooks, on the other hand, said officials were to blame for the Grizzlies' loss, and called the game a "circus."
Thompson had the last laugh, though.
The Warriors (33-30) will face Brooks and the Grizzlies (38-23) twice more in the regular season, with their next matchup Thursday, March 9, at FedExForum. They'll meet again March 18, also in Memphis.
After Brooks' latest comments, fans can expect nothing less than another dogfight. And if the teams happen to meet in the playoffs again, it shouldn't disappoint.
