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Warriors attempt to maintain Grizzlies' misery

Mar 15, 2008 - 1:48 PM Memphis (15-49) at Golden State (40-24) 10:30 pm EDT

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - After an 0-6 start, the Golden State Warriors have lost consecutive games only once since. That figures to serve as bad news for the hapless Memphis Grizzlies.

In an attempt to maintain their playoff positioning in the Western Conference standings, the Warriors will attempt to make quick work of the Grizzlies when they meet on Saturday.

Golden State (40-24) continues to hold onto the eighth and final playoff spot, 1 1/2 games ahead of Denver (39-26). Baron Davis' 38 points were not enough for the Warriors in Thursday's 123-115 loss to the Phoenix Suns, leaving the team in a position to avoid consecutive losses for the first time since January 2-4.

However, Golden State has won five straight versus Memphis, and both of its wins over the Grizzlies this season occurred after Golden State lost a game.

The Warriors, the league's highest-scoring team at 111 points per game, should be in line for another win against the Grizzlies, who have the NBA's second-worst scoring defense behind Golden State at 106 points per game and have lost 16 straight road contests.

Memphis' last such loss was a 108-86 setback at Denver on Wednesday. The Grizzlies, who were led by Juan Carlos Navarro's 16 points, shot just 36 percent (32-for-90) from the field, including a 6-for-30 performance from the arc.