The Oklahoma City Thunder survived another high-scoring affair on Monday when they defeated the visiting Houston Rockets 137-128. OKC is now out on the road to take on the powerful offense of the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday evening.
The Grizzlies have struggled lately, losing 3 straight and winning just 2 of their last 6. As good as their offense has been all season long, their defense has struggled, particularly since the return from the All-Star Break. OKC’s offense has been the most potent in the NBA since returning from the break, but like the Grizzlies, the defense has been pretty bad. As a matter of, the Thunder has given up the most points in the NBA over the last couple of weeks.
It’s a good thing to see the Thunder scoring in bunches like they have—especially when it’s happening via 50-point games by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—but the defensive letdowns have made several games far more interesting than they should be. Memphis is missing some guys right now, so this is another matchup where OKC could win in convincing fashion, or they could come out with low energy on defense and let the Grizzlies hang around or maybe even win the game.
OKC sits atop the Western Conference standings by a lot, so it could be easy for the Thunder to slide into the postseason lacking focus and urgency. That cannot happen, though, if they want to be successful and go deep into the playoffs. A chance at a championship run likely depends on the team’s ability to be a defensive force, and they’ve been anything but that lately. Facing off against a top-tier offense can be a great challenge that forces OKC to refocus and lock in for the final stretch of the season.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 8:30 PM CT
Location: FedEx Forum (Memphis, Tennessee)
Television: ESPN
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Memphis Grizzlies Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Grizzlies
- PG: Ja Morant
- SG: Desmond Bane
- SF: Jaylen Wells
- PF: Santi Aldama
- C: Zach Edey
Injury Report
Thunder
- Branden Carlson (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Alex Ducas (G League — two-way) is OUT.
- Alex Caruso (sprained left ankle) is OUT.
- Isaiah Hartenstein (nasal fractured) is AVAILABLE.
- Isaiah Joe (lower back soreness) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Dillon Jones (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
- Ajay Mitchell (sprained right great toe) is OUT.
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
Grizzlies
- Santi Aldama (right calf soreness) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Jay Huff (G League — on assignment) is OUT.
- Jaren Jackson Jr. (sprained left ankle) is OUT.
- Yuki Kawamura (right hamstring soreness) is OUT.
- John Konchar (right knee soreness) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Ja Morant (right deltoid contusion) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Scottie Pipper Jr. (left toe soreness) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Zyon Pullin (right patellar tendon surgery recovery) is OUT.
- Cam Spencer (G League — two-way) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder are 34-23 against the Grizzlies (21-9 at home, 12-14 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 9 times, lost it 6 times, and tied it once.
- The Thunder went 3-0 against the Grizzlies last season (2-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).
- So far this season, the Thunder is 2-0 against the Grizzlies (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road).