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Oklahoma City Thunder
at
Memphis Grizzlies
Preview
The Matchups
Mike Conley v Russell Westbrook
Both Conley and Westbrook finished up shooting pretty well in the first game these teams played. Conley finished 8-16 for 20 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and only 1 turnover. Westbrook finished 9-16 for 23 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, a steal, a block, but 3 turnovers. Overall I would call that a win for the Grizzlies. The Thunder will want Westbrook to take better care of the ball, something he has struggled to do of late, and continue to take good shots. With Gasol, Randolph, and Thabeet rotating in finishing around the rim will be tricky but Westbrook handled the pressure last game so I am confident he will tonight as well.
Edge
OJ Mayo v Thabo Sefolosha
The Grizzlies needed Mayo to step up and be a scorer against the Thunder, unfortunately stepping up an d scoring against Sefolosha is difficult at best. Mayo finished the night 8-23 for 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. If Sefolosha can force Mayo to reproduce that line the Thunder would be happy to see it.
Edge
Rudy Gay v Kevin Durant
Durant and Gay had relatively similar games in the first match. Durant took 4 more shots, but they each took 12 free throws and played 41 minutes. Gay went 4-16 for 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 turnovers. Durant went 10-22 for 32 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 turnovers. I would call that a solid win for the Thunder. The Thunder will need Durant to take care of the ball and continue to be his normal efficient scoring self tonight.
Edge
Zach Randolph v Jeff Green
Randolph was may have put up gaudy numbers but at the end of the day he really didn't contribute much to the grizzlies in the first game. He went 8-21 for 19 points, 20 rebounds, an assist, and 2 turnovers. I know what you're thinking he almost had 20 and 20 how can you say he didn't contribute. 19 points on 21 shots is terrible and yes he had 20 rebounds including 11 offensive rebounds maybe if he had made more shots he wouldn't have had as many rebounds. Green wasn't much better he had 11 points on 12 shots. Tonight Green could have a good game, he has been much more aggressive attacking the basket and Randolph lacks the quickness to stop Green if he tries to drive the lane.
Edge
Marc Gasol v Nenad Krstic
Krstic tore it up against the Grizzlies 7-10 for 15, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and only 1 turnover. Gasol also had a field day 6-9 for 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Krstic had fell out of favor it seemed with Brooks and the Thunder but with Collison's injury he has been playing more minutes and rewarding the Thunder with a solid offensive option. I would expect another 7-10 night from him tonight. With the way everyone has been trying to abuse the Thunder down low I expect Gasol to get more than 9 shots but with Mayo and Gay dominating the ball it might be hard to find him shots.
Edge
Bench v Bench
Jamaal Tinsley was pretty good in the first game he went 1-3 with 3 assists and 0 turnovers. DeMarre Carroll is a nice energy defender off the bench, he has gotten more minutes as the season has progressed. Sam Young is an okay shooting guard but he doesn't really have much range. Thabeet continues to be up and down but one thing he can do is block shots.
With Collison missing the last couple of games the Thunder have allocated his minutes to Krstic and Ibaka. Both have stepped up and had good games in his absence. Ibaka spent most of the first game with the Grizzlies looking lost. Livingston was trying to direct him on the court but he just wasn't getting it. With a couple more games under his belt I expect he will make an impact tonight. Harden spent a good portion of the game driving the lane and getting blocked. Hopefully he has learned his lesson and tonight will kick it out instead of getting blocked. First time around the Thunder had forced Shaun Livingston into the lineup to give Westbrook a break. Livingston looked healthy but didn't make much of an impact. Tonight the Thunder will trot out their new rookie point Maynor. Maynor has shown flashes of explosiveness but tonight the Thunder just need him to take care of the ball and get good shots.
Edge
The Prediction
When the Thunder first played the Grizzlies the Grizz had just come off wins over Cleveland and Dallas, today they are fresh off a wins over San Antonio and Phoenix. The Grizzlies are a lot like the Thunder last year, they are capable of beating anyone on any given night. The Thunder will need to play better defense than they played in the win over the Timberwolves. The win over the Timberwolves the Thunder seemed to be just going through the motions. There was no real intensity in the Thunder, that's fine if you're playing the Timberwolves but if you're playing a contender in the West you need to have a sense of urgency. So far the Thunder continue to find ways to win the games they should, this is a game they should win, it will be tough but in the end it should be a Thunder win.
Thunder win 104-98
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