MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Warriors are already getting a glimpse of how an early postseason exit would play out.

Phil Jackson is sending veiled jabs on Twitter. Charles Barkley is on his soapbox for being right about calling the Warriors too relient on shooting jumpers. Some fans are already taking to social media, calling for heads to roll.

And you know Mark Jackson’s working on a new line about the greatness of the caterpillar.

If the Warriors don’t come back in this second round series against Memphis, which holds a 2-1 lead, they’ll have undone all the love they’ve received and reclaim the label they worked so hard to shake: disappointment.

They’d be a 67-win tease, exposed by a Grizzlies squad that hasn’t won a title but has been the barometer for title worthiness. The Warriors would be acquitting their critics, who refused to see Golden State as a real force, and convicting believers, who touted their dominance.

Make no mistake: Starting with Game 4 at Memphis on Monday, the Warriors’ legitimacy is on the line. They are faced with losing their seat at the true contender’s table, perhaps never to get it back until they make some real noise in the postseason.

The vultures are (rightfully) circling the Warriors, ready for the Grizzlies to finish them off so they can start picking away at the franchise’s best team.

“It’s a proud group,” coach Steve Kerr said in Sunday’s chat with reporters. “We’ve had a tremendous season. We’re in a position now where we have no choice but to respond to the adversity. And we will, I’m confident in that.

“We’ve got to compete 48 minutes. We’ve got to defend harder. We’ve got to do everything better. It’s what the playoffs are about. You have to know your opponent, you have to learn from each game and you’ve got to respond when things don’t go your way.”

But beyond the ridicule, the embarrassment, the 12 months of being called frauds no matter how well next season goes — bowing out early has deeper ramifications for the Warriors.

Because if Barkley is proved right, what does that say about the Warriors roster?

The failure to be triumphant against a traditional power team only calls into question whether the Warriors’ style and parts are sustainable in the postseason.

Many have said the Warriors can’t win with Andrew Bogut, a defense-first center who can’t score in the low post. And they’d be much closer to right than not.

Many have doubted whether a backcourt of 3-point shooters, though Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are undoubtedly special, can hold up against the rigors of the playoffs. And it would seem they’d be onto something since neither Curry nor Thompson could get high-percentage shots when he needed to in Games 2 and 3 and neither gets to the free-throw line much.

Some have questioned whether the Warriors can really win with a 6-foot-6 small forward in Draymond Green serving as a 3-point shooting power forward. And they’d at least have an argument since Green, who has been stellar this season, looks so small trying to defend the Grizzlies’ big men.

If the Warriors’ critics are proved right, and Memphis bounces Golden State in five or six games without much resistance, general manager Bob Myers has no choice but to re-evaluate his roster. The problem with that is the Warriors have big commitments to these players.

Curry is a keeper regardless. But are he and Thompson really worth upward of $45 million together if they can’t shoot their way past Memphis? That’s what they’ll be making down the line.

Inside scoring threats don’t grow on trees, so how can they upgrade from Bogut?

The Warriors are scheduled to pay $32.6 million to reserves David Lee, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston and still can’t get reliable offense outside of their backcourt. How can they move all that money to get what they need?

Kerr likes to talk about being young. But the Warriors have some key players who are long in the tooth. If they can’t make a real run now, how will their chances get better with Bogut, Iguodala and Livingston all into their second decade of pro hoops?

Yes, it all sounds pretty doomsday.

Another way of looking at it: The Warriors needed this lesson to help them build. They’re headed in the right direction, but this is just the process. Give this same team the amount of time Memphis has been together, and it will be as formidable as any in the league.

Possible. But that’s not what the Warriors will hear should they lose this series.

Read Marcus Thompson II’s blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/thompson. Contact him at mthomps2@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ThompsonScribe.