The Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted a pesky and very young Rockets’ squad in six games in the first round of the playoffs. This time around, the Thunder are going to have to battle the veteran and very talented Memphis Grizzlies. Here is a look at the matchups in this series:
POINT GUARD: Reggie Jackson has done an outstanding job of filling in for Russell Westbrook (knee surgery) and the Thunder need that to continue against the Grizzlies. Jackson played in 6 games (4 starts) for the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs and he is averaging 30.0 minutes, 14.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. The Thunder really need points from Reggie Jackson to support Kevin Durant in this series.
Mike Conley has been on fire in the playoffs for the Grizzlies so far (at least offensively). He played in 6 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 36.2 minutes, 17.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Conley has now played in 26 games (all starts) so far in the playoffs in his NBA career and he is averaging 38.5 minutes, 15.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.
EDGE: GRIZZLIES
SHOOTING GUARD: Thabo Sefolosha is a defensive stopper. He played in 6 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 32.0 minutes, 6.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He has now played in 58 games (49 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 20.8 minutes, 4.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Tony Allen, like Sefolosha, is a defensive player first. He played in 6 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 29.5 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Allen has now played in 82 games (29 starts) so far in the playoffs in his career and he is averaging 15.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.0 steal per game.
EDGE: SLIGHT FOR GRIZZLIES
SMALL FORWARD: Kevin Durant might be the best player on the planet Earth right now (sorry LeBron). He has been carrying his team offensively without Russell Westbrook. Durant played in 6 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 42.7 minutes, 32.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. He has now played in 49 games (all starts) so far in the playoffs in his career and he is averaging 41.8 minutes, 28.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game. The Thunder are going to need Durant to be outstanding in this series for them to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Tayshaun Prince’s game is built on defense and he’s going to have his hands full with Kevin Durant. Prince played in 6 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 35.5 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Prince has now played in 124 games (112 starts) in the playoffs in his career and he is averaging 37.3 minutes, 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
EDGE: GIGANTIC FOR THE THUNDER
POWER FORWARD: Serge Ibaka has really stepped up this year for the Thunder and they need him to keep up the good work in this series. Ibaka played in 6 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 13.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 3.0 blocked shots per game. Ibaka has now played in 49 games (43 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 28.6 minutes, 9.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 2.9 blocked shots per game.
Zach Randolph is playing really solid basketball right now and he can take over games down low. He played in 6 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he is averaging 33.7 minutes, 20.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Randolph has now played in 34 games (30 starts) in the playoffs in his career and he is averaging 34.4 minutes, 17.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
EDGE: SLIGHT FOR THE GRIZZLIES
CENTER: The Thunder are going to need Kendrick Perkins to play good defense and rebound in this series. He played in 6 games (all starts) for the Thunder so far in the playoffs this year and he is averaging 15.5 minutes, 2.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Perkins has now played in 111 games (105 starts) so far in the playoffs in his career and he is averaging 25.5 minutes, 5.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.
Marc Gasol is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the NBA, but he is also a very good player at the other end of the court. Gasol played in 6 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 39.0 minutes, 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. Gasol has now played in 26 games (all starts) so far in the playoffs in his career and he is averaging 39.0 minutes, 15.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 blocked shots per game.
EDGE: HUGE FOR THE GRIZZLIES
BENCH: Due to injuries, the Thunder don’t have a very deep bench. SG Kevin Martin is the guy who brings offensive firepower off the bench for the Thunder. Martin played in 6 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 28.8 minutes, 13.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Martin has now played in 12 games (1 start) so far in his career in the playoffs and he is averaging 30.8 minutes, 13.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Point guard Derek Fisher is ancient, but battle tested. He played in 6 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he is averaging 21.2 minutes, 8.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He has now played in 235 games (158 starts) in his career in the playoffs and he is averaging 27.3 minutes, 8.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. PF/C Nick Collison could have a big role off the bench in this series for the Thunder. He played in 6 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 15.0 minutes, 6.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Collison has now played in 60 games (0 starts) in the playoffs in his career so far and he is averaging 19.7 minutes, 5.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Shooting guard DeAndre Liggins was also surprisingly busy in the first round of the playoffs. He played in 6 games (0 starts) in his first taste of the playoffs in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 9.2 minutes, 1.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Further down the totem pole are center Hasheem Thabeet and SG/SF Ronnie Brewer, who each only played in 1 game in the first round.
The Grizzlies rode their starters hard in the first round of the playoffs. PG/SG Jerryd Bayless can handle playing either guard slot. Bayless played in all 6 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 16.2 minutes, 8.8 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He has now played in 14 games (2 starts) in the playoffs in his NBA career and he is averaging 19.6 minutes, 10.0 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. SG/SF Quincy Pondexter played in 6 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 21.2 minutes, 6.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He has now played in 16 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 15.6 minutes, 4.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. PG/SG Keyon Dooling signed with the Grizzlies very late in the season, but he played some in the first round of the playoffs. Dooling played in 5 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 10.8 minutes, 3.0 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Dooling has now played in 54 games (0 starts) in his career in the playoffs and he is averaging 13.8 minutes, 5.1 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Darrell Arthur and Ed Davis give the Grizzlies a couple of very valuable big men as reserves. Arthur played in 6 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 12.5 minutes, 4.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Arthur has now played in 19 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 14.5 minutes, 6.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Ed Davis played in 5 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 5.8 minutes, 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.
EDGE: EVEN
COACHING: Scott Brooks got the Thunder all the way to the NBA Finals last year before falling a tad short. He got the Thunder to beat the Rockets 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs and he is now 28-21 (57.1%) in his career in the playoffs as an NBA head coach.
Lionel Hollins is picking up his own game along with his team. The Grizzlies went 4-2 and knocked out the favored Clippers in the first round of the 2012-13 playoffs. Hollins is now 14-12 (53.8%) in the playoffs as an NBA head coach so far.
PREDICTON: GRIZZLIES IN SIX GAMES