Scotty Pippen Jr. will start tonight for the Memphis Grizzlies in their play-in game against the Golden State Warriors, according to Damichael Cole of Commercial Appeal.
Pippen Jr. will likely have the assignment of sticking with Steph Curry, an assignment that you can study for and it still often doesn't matter.
News: The Grizzlies are starting Scotty Pippen Jr. tonight against Golden State. He leads the team in steals and is arguably the best point of attack defender Memphis has available.
— Damichael Cole (@DamichaelC) April 16, 2025
Story here with quotes from Bane and Iisalo on Pippen’s impact: https://t.co/1bXieoks7l
Grizzlies shake up lineup for play-in game
The Grizzlies will start Ja Morant, Scotty Pippen Jr, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr and Zach Edey on Tuesday night, a group that has essentially never played together. Theoretically, the combo is great — Ja and Bane are the scorers, JJJ gives you some juice on both ends, Edey fills space and catches lobs, while Pippen does a bit of everything. But theory and practice can be two different things, especially without many reps.
New Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo is throwing a curveball at Steve Kerr, who is one of the best adjustment-makers in the NBA. This game didn't really need extra hype, but it just got some.
Grizzlies starting lineup tonight (Morant-Pippen-Bane-JJJ-Edey) played 24 non-garbage-time possessions in the entire regular season.
— Chris Herrington (@ChrisHerrington) April 16, 2025
Pippen Jr. is a difference-maker on defense
Averaging 1.3 steals per game in just 21.3 minutes, Pippen Jr's active hands are a huge boon to Memphis' perimeter defense, and Iisalo believes in him enough to stick him on Steph in the biggest game of the season for Memphis. That's a vote of confidence.
It'll be worth watching how Memphis substitutes in this game; will the Grizz match Steph minutes with Scotty's if they like what they see from him in the first quarter? Will Pippen Jr make any difference in slowing down Curry? Teams have insisted they have an answer for Steph for the past decade, and... none of them have.
Subscribe to the Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like it, share it with an enemy!