Grizzlies VS Thunder (what’s left of them anyway): It’s a trap… Or maybe not??
Tomorrow night the Memphis Grizzlies travel to Chesapeake Energy Arena to face the injury ridden Oklahoma City Thunder and aim to remain undefeated. The game will air on ESPN at 7pm.
My first thought was that maybe this is one of those famed “trap” games, where we are so certain that there is no way we can lose, that we do. Being a Grizzlies fan I have learned that getting the W is never as “give me” as it seems. I found myself starting to buy into this. Then I remembered how we finished off our season last year and how we have the opportunity to start this season off quite differently.
Let me take you back to Round 1 of last years playoffs. Remember how we were leading the series going into Game 6? Chew on that game for a moment. Think about how dirty Steven Adams played, how Durantbrook (I’ve decided on this for their couples name) went for 61, how they out rebounded, out shot, out everythinged us. I don’t know about you but it puts a bad taste in my mouth. One that I hope our team is currently experiencing too and haven’t forgotten.
The good news? The Thunder team suiting up for tomorrow night’s game is not that team. After injuries sustained on Tuesday against the Raptors, you can barely define them as a team. With that said, I still fully expect that OKC will find a way to round up some sort of offensive presence. Reggie Jackson will be biting at the bit to sink those 3’s and Serge Ibaka will continue to lead his banged up team with an easy double double.
What does that mean for the Grizzlies? For fear of sounding cliché, if the Grizzlies continue to find a way to play our brand of basketball; we should be able to put the wheels up 6-0. Marc and Zach will continue with their stellar performances and I expect our starters to build a nice lead. I’m still waiting on that bench break out game and this could easily be it, due to OKC’s limited line up. This season has been off to a fun start. We have seen some rough basketball and some beautiful basketball but one thing has remained, we have been dominate defensively, holding our opponents to 86.2 points per game over the past 5 (1st in the NBA) and I don’t expect that to stop tomorrow!
All said, I leave you with the video of the punch that landed Zach in a suspension for Game 7. Hopefully this time our punch will happen on the scoreboard as we take advantage of the national stage and remind everyone who the Memphis Grizzlies are!
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- Grizzlies Out Hustle Rockets and Head to Dallas - October 24, 2017
- The Grizzlies are Backed Into A Corner: Spurs Win Game 5 - April 26, 2017
- Memphis at San Antonio: Grizzlies Did Not Layeth the Smacketh Down - March 25, 2017
