Tip-Off: 3 PM CT
Location: Visa Athletic Center (Orlando, Florida)
Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma, NBA TV
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @TheThunderGuys for live-tweets during the game
The Oklahoma City Thunder (42-25) bounced back from Monday’s loss against the Denver Nuggets (45-24) by picking up a dominant 105-86 victory over the the Los Angeles Lakers (52-15) on Wednesday evening. Their strength of schedule dips a little bit over the next few games, and today they take on the Memphis Grizzlies (32-37).
The Grizzlies have had a rough go of it so far in the bubble as they have lost their first four seeding games. If they hope to stand a chance to make the playoffs, they’re going to have to start winning sooner or later.
As for the Thunder, they continue to look like one of the most impressive teams in the bubble. Sure, they lost a tough one to the Nuggets in overtime, but even still, OKC has proven that they can compete with the best of the best.
Today’s matchup with Grizzlies comes down to simple effort. The Thunder is clearly the better team from top to bottom, and as long as they come out with the same effort on defense that they had on Wednesday against the Lakers, this should be an easy win.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Chris Paul
- SG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Danilo Gallinari
- C: Nerlens Noels
Grizzlies
- PG: Ja Morant
- SG: Dillon Brooks
- SF: Kyle Anderson
- PF: Anthony Tolliver
- C: Jonas Valančiūnas
Injuries
Thunder
- Steven Adams (left lower leg contusion) is OUT.
- Terrance Ferguson (lower right leg contusion) is OUT.
- Mike Muscala (concussion protocol) is OUT.
- Dennis Schröder (with family) is OUT.
Grizzlies
- Jaren Jackson Jr. (left meniscus tear) is OUT.
- Tyus Jones (right knee soreness) is OUT.
- Justise Winslow (left hip displacement) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 26-16 against the Grizzlies (16-6 at home, 10-10 on the road) in the regular season and 9-10 in the playoffs (6-5 at home, 3-5 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Grizzlies 8 times and lost 3 times.
- The Thunder went 2-1 against the Grizzlies last season (2-0 at home, 0-1 on the road).
- The Thunder is 1-1 against the Grizzlies so far this season (1-1 at home, 0-0 on the road).
Game Notes
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