ESPN's Jay Williams dismisses Memphis Grizzlies vs Golden State Warriors as rivalry

The Memphis Grizzlies' latest collapse against the Golden State Warriors brought out more criticism Thursday. ESPN analyst Jay Williams didn't hold back dismissing the Grizzlies and Warriors as an actual rivalry.

Despite the NBA promoting this week as "Rivals Week," Williams didn't think the NBA had any rivalries because teams have to win when the games matter the most. He noted the Grizzlies haven't defeated the Warriors this season or in last year's playoffs when the Warriors won the Western Conference semifinals in six games.

"I think it's the best matchup potentially we have in the NBA. But I'm not going to call this a rivalry until Memphis actually arrives to the damn party," Williams said on ESPN.

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The matchups are certainly box office and both teams have talked their share of trash to each other. The Grizzlies' next game with the Warriors, March 9 at FedExForum, will be on TNT, and the final regular-season matchup on March 18, also in Memphis, will be on NBA TV.

But since last year's playoffs, the series has been one-sided in the Warriors' favor. Golden State has won five of the past six meetings going back to Game 3 of the second-round matchup, including the last four games at Chase Center in San Francisco.

It didn't change that both Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Klay Thompson called the series a rivalry ahead of Wednesday's game. But the Grizzlies, now on a four-game losing streak, know they have to do their part to get this series back even.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Grizzlies-Warriors not a rivalry, Jay Williams of ESPN says