The Grizzlies defeated the Spurs in six games setting up a second round matchup with the Thunder. Memphis of course is the eight-seed so Oklahoma City will have homecourt advantage. Here’s the schedule for the series. (All times Central)
Game 1 — Sunday, May 1: Memphis at Oklahoma City, 12:00 p.m. (ABC)
Game 2 — Tuesday, May 3: Memphis at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m. (TNT)
Game 3 — Saturday, May 7: Oklahoma City at Memphis, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 4 — Monday, May 9: Oklahoma City at Memphis, 8:30 p.m. (TNT)
Game 5 — Wednesday, May 11: Memphis at Oklahoma City, TBD (TNT)*
Game 6 — Friday, May 13: Oklahoma City at Memphis, TBD (ESPN)*
Game 7 — Sunday, May 15: Memphis at Oklahoma City, TBD (TBD)*
*If necessary
Toxx :@DJ
7
I cant dispute any of what u say. I just dont want thunder fans to get too down on a 22 yr old. Young players r erratic and i wont turn on him because win or lose he is my guy, this is my team. I love watching every one of our players and i go to war with scotty as well. Dont forget the love fest we were having when we were up 3-0. Honey badger this honey badger that, then 1 loss, 1 bad game and it all ended. After a bad game is when our young players need us most. KD said it postgame, they feed off the energy of the fans so lets not get too down on the guys. Thunder fans are the brightest, most knowledgeable in sports and i am happy to be amongst you all. Thunder up!
Agreed, and Hes still Honey Badger in my book! He just needs to understand what the team needs him to be. He can't blame it on pressure, Derrick Rose, and Our Own Kevin Durant aren't. KD is only a few months older.
@DJ 7
I cant dispute any of what u say. I just dont want thunder fans to get too down on a 22 yr old. Young players r erratic and i wont turn on him because win or lose he is my guy, this is my team. I love watching every one of our players and i go to war with scotty as well. Dont forget the love fest we were having when we were up 3-0. Honey badger this honey badger that, then 1 loss, 1 bad game and it all ended. After a bad game is when our young players need us most. KD said it postgame, they feed off the energy of the fans so lets not get too down on the guys. Thunder fans are the brightest, most knowledgeable in sports and i am happy to be amongst you all. Thunder up!
David West might be good on the Spurs too, if they can figure out other salary shedding moves.
Perkins didn't have a good series by several measures. Now he gets another chance to further justify the extension and starter spot.
Spurs probably should try to trade Jefferson and role players and / or even one of Parker or Giniboli for a better big to put beside Duncan if they want a different result next season.
A healthy David West (if that happens) might be a good target for Denver.
Just got my tickets section 108 ! Thunder up!!
@shahir
CHELSEA FC!!
enough football talk, this is basketball!!
walrusmuse :
In Mexico City right now just got back to Internet-bring on the Grizz!!
how is it? HOPE YOUR HAVING FUN!!!! You guys should totally go to one of the late night plaza parties. They're kidna secretive but i'm pretty sure by asking the right people you'll find one. They are REAL REAL FUN!!!
@Chocolate Ginobili
You know what, I'll say it. i actually think Brooks out-coached Karl. Except for the ending of game 4. In my eyes Brooks has done a very good job on rotations, and plays. We've blamed him all year, but i think Game 4, and the others show sometimes its not always the coaches fault. Brooks is a better coach than Spoelstra, and Carlise.
@Toxx
What we need is Westbrook to understand that he's number 2. I'm still upset with him from what he's done the last two games. Like Barkley said, he was pouting the last game, and trying to be the PG the world wants him to be, or decides to be the PG he wants to be, but if he wants to lead this team to a championship he needs to be the PG the team needs him to be.
I actually like FC Barça ... Messi is the best player in sport right now ... I dont consider them to flop any more than any other futbol team
Denver's FT% was the worst in the first round. An important gift.
The Griz's regular season FT% was a bit below average and it was 3rd worst in the first round.
By team W-L patterns the Griz, a team who plays at an average pace with a pretty good defense, was a pretty tough opponent for the Spurs; but just looking at that data the Spurs were still favored. The Spurs were weakest at PF and that the stronger series shooting of the Gris and their own weak shooting was enough to do them in.
The Thunder are weakest against average pace teams and good shot defenses. They were weak at PF before. Ibaka at PF changed that a lot but his weakside help is one thing and 1 on 1 defense is another. Can he handle Randolph and have enough time and wisom to come off him at the right times and light up the block party? The regular season are actually encouraging that Ibaka and the team can defend Randolp and the rest of the team with Ibaka on the court. But the Griz are rolling right now.
There will be places where either coach could make significant lineup and rotation moves. Lots of places were things could be helped or hurt. Brooks and the Thunder have their work cut out for them. At the moment I find talk of winning in 5 overconfident but in the end it will come down to which way the close games break.
To win, I'd think they'd have to win the rebounding war by more than the Griz possibly win the turnover differential and the Thunder will have to win the points from the line comparison by more than the Griz might win the points from the field comparison.
Both teams foul a lot. Who is forced to sit could be fairly pivotal here and there.
Oh yea, thunder in 6. Win it in memphis with honey badger going for 40 this time. I want the lakers so bad.. Like bart scott, CANT WAIT!
C'mom ppl if we r gonna win this series we need to get russ back to his usual game changing self. KD cant be our only scorer and as unusual as it sounds honey badger is our best at scoring in the paint. So russ i know u r reading this because u played like a guy who has read all these comments in the last game, we forgive u for the 30 shots and we need u to forget all about it quick because if u and KD r at your best we can and will make history! Long live the honey badger. Thunder up!
I wasn't at the final game with the Nuggets, but I was hoping that the crowd would give Westbrook a warmer greeting than normal, as if to say, "Yeah...the last game wasn't your best, but we still believe in you."
@Daniel Plainview
I agree that Russ was affected by his 30 shot game and the resulting comments. We saw it in the last game. Russ was much more deliberate in how he went about things. What we need is for Russ to walk a line between the two versions of himself. I think he'll get there, but he's not there yet.
*Perk did not foul out of a playoff game. I think this is remarkable especially because of the hostile nature of the match-up. Does anyone remember seeing a first round match up as heated as this one? It had teh ambiance of a finals
andrew :
Z-bo plays smart enough that I don’t think Ibaka is gonna swat a ton of his shots. He knows what he can and can’t do against Serge.
The Serge he played of Yore is a completely different player. Im sure he will, at time, make Serge look like a stooge, but Serges athletic prowess and overall dynamicism will completely change Randolphs approach. I love Randolph, but hes going to have to work a lot harder and Serge is going to make him run up and down the court far more than Tim Duncan ever did. The only way we lose this is if Gasol eats up Perk (Mostly due to foul trouble), and Mayo overnight discovers a prolonged beast mode, which hes never been able to do. Allen is going to give us fits, at times, but I really dont see them pulling this one off.
An underrated stat fact: Perk never fouled out of a game and never really got into foul trouble, save once I believe. Hes actually calmed down since the playoffs began. I think KD has rubbed off on him as much as Perk on he. I did notice Perk talking sweet violent somethings in Russel's ear late in the last game. I liked that, he was showing him he still believed in him. Russ was profoundly affeected by his thirty shot game and the reception from the media afterwords, plus, KD's heroics the day after probably did remind him that KD is the real superstar of the team
Chocolate Ginobili :
If the Mavericks can somehow beat the Lakers and the Heat make the Finals, Brooks has a chance to win the coaching match-up in every series we play in. Chew on that.
I love the given in that comment.
@Thomas
Anyone, as in, no matter who guards Durant late game, they are endangered to a legend of the wrong sorts
The only thing I dont like about playing Denver and Memphis, is they are the two teams I would be rooting for if we were not in the playoffs. For the East teams Im not indifferent too, I hate, save the Sixers who are obvliosly no more. Dallas and LA make me Ill, LA, for obvious reason, Dallas cause theyre boring as hell. I always wish Nowitski well, but ugh, you know
@Daniel Plainview
What?
Haha, so true, Ric Bucher:
No NBA playoff games Saturday, first dark day since playoffs began. I figure withdrawal symptoms will become paralyzing about 5 pm. PT.
For those fans that are going to Game 1 tomorrow:
http://www.nba.com/thunder/news/traffic_advisory_110429.html
@Thomas
Anyone, really.
@Skeletor
Or Danillo or course.
I find this funny. KD has hit a game winning shot over Wilson Chandler before the playoffs. Need a game winning shot from KD. Let Wilson Chandler guard him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPbrl2h-W_I
I have mixed feelings about this. I felt like the Thunder matched up better to the Spurs, but I also subscribe to the belief that home court trumps all. My ray of hope is that the Thunder haven't played the Grizzlies since the Perk trade. Hopefully, we'll play Randolph more physically now. However, if I remember right, I don't think the Griz had O.J. Mayo any of the times when we played them this year, so past games may play no bearing in how this series could go. I believe the Thunder have the tools to go all the way this year. But having the tools and knowing how best to use them are two different things. The Thunder CAN'T just be "The KD/Russ Show" and hope to win it all. How far we go in this championship tourney depends upon Ibaka, Harden, and Maynor, IMHO.
The only way we lose this series is if Ibaka/Perk allows Z-Bo to go bonkers with his short mid-range jumper. I don't have a ton of confidence in Brooks, but I have enough to think that he won't allow this to happen. Memphis is tough but the more I look at the matchups the more confident I am in the outcome of this series. Thunder in 5.
Ok, just follow the link and copy&paste the numbers at the end of the url. Or look up the head to head for yourselves, damm it.
By the way, I think coaching will be key in this series (eventhough OKC has the clear edge).
PS: I'm dissapointed after hearing Ibaka is a FC Barcelona fan, they are like the Lakers with orchestrated flopping (you would hate them guys)
Second try:
http://www.nba.com/statscube/player-vs-player.html#Kevin-Durant-vs-Shane-Battier|201142,2203
http://www.nba.com/statscube/player-vs-player.html#Zach-Randolph-vs-Serge-Ibaka|2216,20158
http://www.nba.com/statscube/player-vs-player.html#Tony-Allen-vs-Kevin-Durant|2754,201142;season=r
http://www.nba.com/statscube/player-vs-player.html#Zach-Randolph-vs-Serge-Ibaka|2216,201586;season=r
Pretty amazing tool I didn't know about
In Mexico City right now just got back to Internet-bring on the Grizz!!
If the Mavericks can somehow beat the Lakers and the Heat make the Finals, Brooks has a chance to win the coaching match-up in every series we play in. Chew on that.
At first I wanted the Spurs, but now the Grizz made it . . . . You mentioned home court trumps all . . . but do you remember Spurs had home court advantage vs. the Grizz
Now that it's real, and we have Memphis, it makes me worried. We have no excuse for not making it to the WCF. That's a little terrifying.
Memphis had a huge advantage in terms of length/athleticism on the perimeter not to mention the physcial presence of Gasol/Randolph on the inside. They'll have an inside scoring advantage with their 2 guys, but they won't have the enormous physical edge they had over the Spurs. They won't have that length/athleticism advantage on the outside either.
They wanted the Spurs for a reason, b/c they matched up very well with them.
Key for Perkins/Ibaka/Collison/Mohammed when guarding Randolph is to body him up, keep your arms straight up, and don't fall for the up-fakes, up-and-unders, and other fakes he'll use on the block.
*your dad
@Skeletor
Keep you dad away. LOL
Whoa. Hollinger and Sheridan have us winning in 5. That would be awesome!
I equally think there is no way they lose game 1. They know they've lost 3 out of 4 to Memphis, the media will rub it in their face, and they will want revenge. Memphis is on cloud nine right now and will be overconfident. Finally, I'll be there with my wife, and she has never gone to a Thunder game where they've lost. The ones I go to with my dad have all been losses but not with her.
We're in trouble.. ESPN's "analysts" picked us to win Unanimously.. i don't know if i should love it or fear it..
I don't think there is any way we lose sunday. I expect an easy win.
@GB
nice!! I drive a 2010 Dodge Challenger RT V8. Love some speed!
I posted this on RealGM.
Memphis post Battier:
ORTG: 111.68
DRTG: 105.87
Opponent eFG%: 50.44%
Denver post Carmelo
ORTG: 112.05
DRTG: 101.01
Opponent eFG%: 47.7%
Denver was just far better than Memphis to close the season, I'm way less worried about Memphis than I was about Denver. Memphis played a terrific series against San Antonio, but I think many of the matchup advantages they experienced will be less of a problem for the Thunder.
OKC held that Denver offense to almost nine fewer points per 100 possessions, and their offense was seven points better per 100 possessions than the Denver average after trading Carmelo. Unless Memphis takes OKC off guard and steals game one (similar to what Denver had to do), I don't think they will have a chance.
All the ESPN knuckleheads are taking the Thunder to win the series. Stein and Sheridan are saying in 5.
These are the same guys who unanimously picked the Spurs.
Everyone is talking the Grizz up because they beat us 3-1 in the season but nobody mentions it was before the trades. Such ignorance going around.
dream catcher :
Daniel Plainview :
Allen will make some amazing plays, but not enough to win
The guy im worried about is Randolph. Can either Ibaka or perk contain him without getting in foul trouble?
We'll throw different things at him I'm sure. Randolph is prone to taking bad shots. Many of the looks he had against the Spurs were bad looks, but he has a habit of making them. I think Ibaka and Perkins both have the length to bother him into tough shots consistently. Perkins has the strength to match up with him in the post, and Ibaka can beat him down the court the other way.
@dream catcher
I believe so. And besides, our two best players are better than anyone they have.
andrew :
Z-bo plays smart enough
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh2fn01cngg