The Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Memphis Grizzlies for the second time in a week tonight and look to go 5-0 on this 5 game home stand. Since they beat the Grizzlies already, many are expecting them to win again. It won’t that easy however. The last game was close and could have easily ended in a Thunder loss. Here’s what they will need to do to make sure they complete the home stand.
1. PROTECT THE PAINT
This is something that the Thunder didn’t do last game against the Grizzlies. They had 74 of their 122 in the paint. The Grizzlies score the most point in the paint at 53.6 so the Thunder allowed 20 more points there than the Grizzlies are used to getting. They aren’t a good 3 point shooting team so the Thunder should bait them into taking 3 point shots and try to give up limited paint opportunities. That’s not to say let them have open 3s. They just need to be mindful of the personnel they’re playing.
2. LIMIT FAST BREAK OPPORTUNITIES
This wasn’t that much of an issue last game. Thunder only allowed 13 fast break points last game. This is due to only turning the ball over 12 times, less than what they average and shooting 54.8% from the field. It still needs to be said though. The Grizzlies are the number 4 fast break team in the NBA and have the 4th fastest pace. Whatever the Thunder did last game, they should try and replicate it tonight.
3. PLAY BETTER DEFENSE
This kind of ties the first two keys together. The Thunder gave up 122 points last game and allowed the Grizzlies to shoot 50.5% from the field. That simply can’t happen again. The Thunder fortunately shot better from the field but they can’t bank on that happening again. It would be great if they could shoot that well but it’s not likely. They will need to play smart hard defense and not allow the Grizzlies to get easy shots. No easy paint buckets and taking smart shots on offense so their defense can get set up.
Last game was a fun one. The Thunder came back from down 24 to win but I’m sure they’d prefer not to get down by that much again. If they can follow these keys, they’ll complete the home stand 5-0 which is better than anyone expected.
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