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OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors will honor Omri Casspi with a 2018 championship ring when the veteran leads his new team, the Memphis Grizzlies, into town for a Monday night matchup. The game pits two teams off to fast starts, only one of which was easily predictable.
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The Warriors, the two-time defending champs, have won seven in a row during a 9-1 opening that's the best in the Western Conference. Their average margin of victory during the winning streak has been 18.3 points.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, already have a pair of wins over the Utah Jazz in a 5-3 start that includes a 102-100 loss at Phoenix on Sunday night.
Memphis will be playing the second half of a back-to-back on Monday against a Golden State team that's had two days off.
The Warriors were last seen holding an opponent under 100 points for the first time this season in a 116-99 home win over Minnesota on Friday night.
After nine games in which Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson dominated the headlines, Warriors coach Steve Kerr singled out his fourth All-Star, Draymond Green, as being the key to the win over the Timberwolves.
"Draymond set the tone," Kerr praised after the impressive defensive effort. "I'm not sure I've seen Draymond play better since I've been here."
Casspi had his moments for the Warriors last season, getting his best opportunities when either Durant or Green was out of action.
He scored in double figures 13 times, four times as a starter, helping the Warriors go 12-1 in those games.
One of his best games came in a home win over Memphis in December, when he contributed 12 points and six rebounds to a 97-84 win.
Casspi was not on the active roster for the playoffs as Kerr elected to keep an additional center on his roster. The popular veteran was voted a championship ring nonetheless.
He left as a free agent in the off-season, getting a one-year, $2.2 million offer from the Grizzlies, for whom he has scored eight or more points twice, both times in wins.
The Grizzlies' fast start can be more accurately attributed to Mike Conley, who blew out his Achilles 13 games into last season, at which point Memphis was 7-6.
Without their floor leader, they finished 22-60.
Now Conley is back providing the perimeter complement to Marc Gasol's interior presence, a combination that helped lead the Grizzlies to seven straight postseason appearances before last year.
"We just play the game the right way," Conley insisted. "It's easy to come back when you have a guy like [Gasol] who knows where you need the ball and gets the best opportunity for your team to score."
Conley hit a game-tying jumper with 25.7 seconds remaining Sunday at Phoenix, only to watch the Suns' Devin Booker connect from 17 feet for the game-winner with 2.6 seconds left.
Casspi played just four minutes in the loss, during which he recorded a plus-6 plus/minus. He scored two points.
The back-to-back is Memphis' first of the season.
