Memphis vs Oklahoma City NBA Preview Friday 2-3-12
The Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder have been considered two of the up-and-coming teams in the Western Conference, and to this point neither has really disappointed. Two teams with young rosters but exciting and dynamic duos will do battle once again when the Grizzlies visit the West-leading Thunder Friday night. This will be the third meeting between these teams this season, with the Thunder taking both previous contests in Memphis (98-95 Dec. 28 and 100-95 Jan. 10). Here’s a look at my NBA picks on the game.
Memphis Grizzlies (12-10) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (17-4), 8 p.m. ET
The Grizzlies didn’t look like an up-and-coming team early on, stumbling to a 3-6 start. Memphis, though, burst out on a seven-game win streak, but has come back to earth of late.. The team has been hurt by injuries to Zach Randolph, who has played in just four games this year after tearing an MCL in his knee on New Year’s Day at Chicago. He’s healing, but will be out for a few more games, which continues to put pressure on Rudy Gay (17.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.6 spg) and Marc Gasol (14.9 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 2.3 bpg) to carry the load, while Mike Conley (12.9 ppg, 7.2 apg, 2.5 spg) runs the point. The team ranks among the top-10 in points allowed (92.3 ppg), but is among the lowest-scoring teams in the league (93.6 ppg), which poses a challenge against an up-tempo Thunder squad.
Oklahoma City has been running people out of the gym to start this year, and made a statement Wednesday night with a 95-86 road win over the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. The Thunder has not won fewer than four straight games and has only lost consecutive games once – and the team is 12-2 since that “skid.” Thanks to Kevin Durant (26.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and Russell Westbrook (21.9 ppg, 5.7 apg, 2.1 spg), Oklahoma City puts the pressure on opposing defense, ranking third in the league in scoring (100.1 ppg) but is also a good rebounding team, ranking eighth with 43.3 boards per contest. In the first two meetings with Memphis, OKC won the tempo battle, getting the games into the upper 90s. At home, the Thunder is hard to keep under wraps offensively, so Memphis will be challenged to keep up.
A look at the latest NBA odds shows Oklahoma City favored by 9 points and a total set for 192.5 points. The Thunder is a strong 8-1 at home this year, scoring 99 or more in seven of the nine games. Memphis would be much more of a threat to the Thunder with Randolph In the lineup as an extra presence alongside Gasol inside. Without him, though, and this time playing the Thunder on the road instead on its home court, Memphis will have an uphill battle. If Memphis can control the tempo and keep this game closer to 90 points, it will have a chance (OKC was held to 93 in its only home loss). But the Thunder is awfully good at dictating tempo at home, so provided it gets the game into the mid to upper-90s, it should be a third straight win for the Thunder against the Grizz this year.
Final Score Prediction: Thunder 102, Grizzlies 88
