01/22/2010 Thunder @ Grizzlies (regular season 43 of 82)

[KDisNotNice]

Oklahoma City Thunder (24-18) at Memphis Grizzlies (22-19), 7pm Central time tipoff on Friday night.

This is the second of three meetings this season between these teams. OKC won in Memphis 102-94 on December 11th and they meet again in the (regular) season finale on April 14th in OKC.

The game will be shown on Fox Sports Oklahoma.

The Thunder are 12-9 on the road and this is the third game of a 4 game road trip. The Grizzlies are 15-5 at home including wins in their last 9 home games.

Yahoo Sports preview of the game is here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2010012229&prov=ap

[HotRocNRol]

Grizzlies favored by 3 1/2; over/under is 203 1/2 or 204 1/2.

OKC...101
MEM...100

[Colonel Thunder]

Thunder - 96
Da Bearss - 93

[Tx Thunder]

Thunder 99
Carebears 97

It seems like we play Memphis once a week :(

[Colonel Thunder]

It seems like we play Memphis once a week :( Yes, it does.
Looked at the schedule; we play Memphis only 3 times this season and two of those are at Memphis.

[KDisNotNice]

Yes, it does.
Looked at the schedule; we play Memphis only 3 times this season and two of those are at Memphis.

see above:


This is the second of three meetings this season between these teams. OKC won in Memphis 102-94 on December 11th and they meet again in the (regular) season finale on April 14th in OKC.

[Colonel Thunder]

see above:or you can say it that way.:)

[thebig3]

Grizz 105
Thunder 98

[StormFan93]

Grizz 105
Thunder 98

Flip It.

Thunder 105
Bear Cubs 98

[Thunderhead]

Thunder 97
Griz 95

[ThunderMoneyBall]

Okc wins and covers, just Grizz...:eek:Oops!..Bearly. IMO, a close and tight game:(. Thunder: 98 Grizzlybaarrss:94

[Capt Jack Sparrow]

Grizz - 98
Thunder - 89

[RicanThunder]

I think the Thunder understand the challenge of trying to get one of the lower seeds in the West and know, that in order to solidy their place in the standings, they have to win games, but especially those against the teams you are battling for playoff positioning. That way, if a tiebreaker comes into play, you don't have to worry about it. If we win this one, we win the season series. Close game, but we come out on top in the end.

THUNDER - 105
Express - 103

Does KD have another 30 pointer? A resounding, Marv Albert-like YESSSS!!!!!

[lloyd]

Thunder 101
Grizzlies 98

[Colonel Thunder]

If it wasn't for a back2back, I'd think that we'd have a better chance of getting overlooked in Cleveland than taking out a play-off candidate that's on fire at home.

[RicanThunder]

If it wasn't for a back2back, I'd think that we'd have a better chance of getting overlooked in Cleveland than taking out a play-off candidate that's on fire at home.

Colonel, you gotta understand. We've been killing teams' HCA. Look at Utah...won there. Look at Phoenix....won there. Look at San Antonio...won there. Even Minnesota had a two game home win streak coming into Wednesday's game....won that one. Miami...won there.

I don't think this team is scared of road crowds.

[Westbrook0]

Colonel, you gotta understand. We've been killing teams' HCA. Look at Utah...won there. Look at Phoenix....won there. Look at San Antonio...won there. Even Minnesota had a two game home win streak coming into Wednesday's game....won that one. Miami...won there.

I don't think this team is scared of road crowds.

You forgot Atlanta! :D

[Colonel Thunder]

I don't think this team is scared of road crowds.Completely agree.
It's the psyche and level of effort from the opposing teams that I try to get a feel for.

[KDisNotNice]

My prediction:

Thunder 98
Grizzlies 104

tiebreaker: 31 (points by Durant)

[THUNDERnOKC378]

101-96, Thunder

[Urukgali]

OKC 103
Grizz 101

I'm curious about Ibaka - Thabeet matchup.I'm sure Serge will dominate !
And yes KD 30 + pts and RW0 15/5/5 +

[RedDirt717]

Thunder 105
Griz 95

[Thunderhead]

Darnell Mayberry Tweet:


DarnellMayberry Nick Collison to play tonight after two-game absence because of a concussion.

[Thunderstruck83]

Thunder - 98
Grizzlies - 103

We need to win this one because we may be fighting memphis for a playoff spot at the end so need the tiebreaker, but i think they get us tonight...

[RicanThunder]

Get a Fxcking rebound dammit. Put Ibaka in the game.

[RicanThunder]

20-28 after 1. Got our work cut out for us. Let's go Thunder!!!!!

[Urukgali]

Get a Fxcking rebound dammit. Put Ibaka in the game.

That's exactly what i tought.Aweful rebounding.Obviously Krstic and Collison can't get the ball from the glass so Serge is needed.I'm also angry on Russell for those really silly turnovers.He could avoid it easily.

[Urukgali]

Harden with the most rebounds after just 7 minutes of the game...That's really bad.Memphis is dominating the paint hard.Also some ****ty calls by refs....again... ;/
Anyway Thunder have to change their game drasticly to win this.

[RicanThunder]

Thabeet and Gasol are killing us. This is getting a little comical.

[RicanThunder]

Wow, we got 3 rooks out there...Maynor, Mullens, and Harden.

[Urukgali]

I think there was also Ibaka on the court before KD got back into the game.That's a very confident decision by Brooks getting so much youth so early in the game.The funny hting is that it's working well.Maynor not turning the ball over and Harden playing great.Those drives are insane and that's the spark of hope there.More PF on Memphis bigs !

[Thunderstruck83]

They're a tough match up for us, very similar except they have better big guys. This will be a fun rivalry in the coming years if the teams stay together.

[Thunderstruck83]

Great decision by Thabo...probably would've missed the layup...and the touch pass to Green was very nice...how's that for our defensive stopper?!

[Urukgali]

Fantastic comeback.Much better defense(Krstic doing good job at support for Maynor)and great sharing the ball.I really think Maynor is big factor of that chase.Would anyone say that was bad decision by Brooks ?

[RicanThunder]

WOOOOOOOO!!!!!! 49-48 Thunder at the half. Now that's what I call defense. KD stepping up on offense.

[Betts]

Amazing comeback considering how we looked earlier.

[Thunderstruck83]

I was just hoping to get within 4-6 at half but that'll work just fine!

[Urukgali]

Very nice.The whole team has started to playng really well.Especially at defense.
It's weird to see Maynor with more minutes then RW0 after the half but maybe Westbrook will respect the ball a little more now and work harder at this point(probably will start second half so let's hope for improvement there).

[Urukgali]

OKC seems to play better without RW0 today.Maybe if he hit more shots then it would be ok because he's creating the situation for himself and not that much for his teammates as Maynor.

[HotRocNRol]

Randolph having JG as his little missus tonight.

[soonabooma]

God is a dickhead!

[RicanThunder]

Dammit!!!!

[KDisNotNice]

Randolph having JG as his little missus tonight.


Green was named the Thunder player of the game on the broadcast.

[soonabooma]

It was a lazy effort, but God damn it!......how many little things could go their way? It's unbelievable. I know they have some talented guys, but the more I watch them, the more I'm reminded of the Jazz.....ugly as a motha ****a....seriously, it's no joke.

[KDisNotNice]

God is a {censored}!

This one is on Durant. Tie game in the last minute, he grabs the rebound but lets Gasol steal the ball from him. Then Rudy Gay makes a shot over him to take the lead. Last second shot for Durant to win the game, wide open, and he missed it.

[Betts]

Young = inconsistent. They'll break our hearts some games and thrill us others.

[KDisNotNice]

We made a good comeback down the stretch with 7 straight points to tie the game, but the Grizzlies made the plays in the last 30 seconds of the game.

[soonabooma]

This one is on Durant. Tie game in the last minute, he grabs the rebound but lets Gasol steal the ball from him. Then Rudy Gay makes a shot over him to take the lead. Last second shot for Durant to win the game, wide open, and he missed it.

There was a little too much that went in Memphis' favor in that last couple of minutes including that shot by Rudy ***got. So yes, God IS a dickhead.:mad:

[krstivoje]

1. if a guy has more than 15 shots then he better score more than 20, otherwise he should be punished by Law

2. if OKC has 95% chance of winning when Krstic scores 10 or more, then we better give Krstic 10 shots instead of 5, or be pronounced guilty as charged

[soonabooma]

It was a lazy effort from our guys. They just kinda moped around and went through the motions, and fortunately we're good enough now that we can't really get blown away by a team like that. We made our little run and got back in the game, but it was a zombie effort. We went to sleep and then tried to wake up in the final couple of minutes. We didn't really deserve to win that game, but then again...neither did Memphis, they play every bit as ugly as Utah does, and it's sad that they get so much junk to fall, they find their way to rebounds and loose balls, but it's all ugly. When I watch teams like those, it makes me appreciate the one that we're building for the future becuz we're not gonna be relying on bullcrap play to get us by, we're gonna add some pieces to the squad and continue working on beating teams with killer defense and speed/athleticism. We'll see what kind of crap Memphis tries to pull when we see them in our home finale.

[slimjimzv]

I didn't get to see the game, but RW0 had 5 TO's and just 3 Assists. I'm not suprised they lost.

[thebig3]

Their bigs are much better than our bigs. That's why the Thunder lost. Need to fix the 4 and 5 spots.

[#1Thunderfan]

Westbrook has to get between 8-10 assist in order for the Thunder to win.. Well to give them a better chance anyways.. Westbrook had a horrible game tonight.

[KDisNotNice]

1. if a guy has more than 15 shots then he better score more than 20, otherwise he should be punished by Law

2. if OKC has 95% chance of winning when Krstic scores 10 or more, then we better give Krstic 10 shots instead of 5, or be pronounced guilty as charged


1. You must be talking about Green, 18 shots, 15 points. At least he had 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

2. If Krstic didn't miss those 2 straight FT's, then he would have had his 10 points. Any center who is on the court for 25 minutes but only has TWO rebounds (and ZERO blocked shots) should be punished by law.

[RicanThunder]

1. if a guy has more than 15 shots then he better score more than 20, otherwise he should be punished by Law

Acie Law?????

[krstivoje]

If Krstic didn't miss those 2 straight FT's, then he would have had his 10 points

----

what shot percentage do you expect from krstic? 80%? 90? better than kobe?the guy will shoot 5 of 10 ANY time ANYWHERE, period. that translates to 10. even if he misses free throw it is still 10, and based what all analysts in nba say, there would be 95% certainty that OKC would win any game. so now we would still have krstic where he was, and we would still have green 3 blocks and rebounds and everything else, he would still be where he is, and everybody else, but with the small difference: WE WOULD BE WINNERS. you see, I hate to loose. I'll do anything to win. if statistcis say that krstic must score 10 or more per game to win than that is the only Law I would abide with

[RicanThunder]

Get us a defensive minded center, please!!!!!!!!! We don't need a 20 point scorer in the paint. We need a 10+ rebound, 2 block, intimidating machine.

[soonabooma]

Get us a defensive minded center, please!!!!!!!!! We don't need a 20 point scorer in the paint. We need a 10+ rebound, 2 block, intimidating machine.

I agree.

[Urukgali]

Exactly ! I don't want a center which scores 20 points but do not defend.What's the point of scoring points when you let opponent score more by that time ? Defence is the priority.Krstic had decent period in the 2nd or 3rd quarter backing up Maynor but it's really bad when he doesn't rebound and gets a block.I have to agree though we didn't have any of our 5 playing well tonight.
Some good effort chasing the score but unfortunately it all went away.Still very good performance from our players.Maynor,Harden,KD ofcourse.Thabo had his moment but he seems to play worse lately.What do you think ? I also liked Green that game.Did you see the replays when he was fightning with Zach for the position? Jeff looks like he 's starting to understand that he has to play like he is 4,not 3.I hope he improves there.I also like him using speed advantage on Randolph.
What are your opinions about the refs ? I always watch the game through the internet so the quality is poor but i saw some potentionally bad calls.I was especially angry about those offensive ones on RW0(i'm not 100% sure about this one)and especially Green against Gasol.It looked like refs had followed the crowd.

[krstivoje]

Get us a defensive minded center, please!!!!!!!!! We don't need a 20 point scorer in the paint
-------

no, we need more bad shooters, like 7 out of 18, or similar, that is what will help us to win the games. add a dozen of turnovers per player and we will play playoff finale, that is for sure

[KDisNotNice]

Get us a defensive minded center, please!!!!!!!!! We don't need a 20 point scorer in the paint
------
no, we need more bad shooters, like 7 out of 18, or similar, that is what will help us to win the games. add a dozen of turnovers per player and we will play playoff finale, that is for sure

Perhaps your favorite player needs to make more shots for himself instead of always standing 18 feet out and shooting that same exact jumper every time. Perhaps if he grabbed a few offensive rebounds, he could get more shots for himself. Centers are expected to rebound and contest shots and he clearly didn't do that tonight.

[soonabooma]

What we need is an upgrade....if that means getting a guy that protects the paint and makes his living rebounding and blocking shots then that's what we need to do....think Tyson Chandler, he wasn't an offensive guy but he was a difference maker and that's what we need.

[krstivoje]

70 a piece I call that a defense minded game. Only champs Detroit under coach Brown few years ago played more intensive defense, with 60 - 65 a piece in non-playoff game. no, this game was lost because of bad distribution of shots and because krstic score less that 10. everything else was equal: rebounds, blocks, assists, percentages, turnovers, attempts everything.

[KDisNotNice]

We lost by 2 points and Krstic missed 2 FT's (in only 4 attempts). If he went 12-14 like Durant did, we would take only 2 misses on 86% overall but not on 50%.

Please, somebody, go through the boxscores of all NBA games tonight and find any seven foot center who played at least 20 minutes and had only TWO rebounds!

[krstivoje]

Perhaps your favorite player needs to make more shots for himself instead of always standing 18 feet out and shooting that same exact jumper

----

that is exactly what I am saying. but that is exactly what coach brooks want him to do. to be the BODY and create space, while others get rebounds and free drive lanes. nothing wrong with that if he, in parallel, gets 10 shots instead of ridiculous 5. btw, nobody on this team knows pick-and-roll except krstic.

if you want to get mark gasol, "rebounder" and "scorer" instead of krstic go ahead, I would welcome that, at least krstic could finally play with 10 or 15 shots per game. that was the thinking of the trust of brains in Nets, who brought Lopez instead of Krstic, and then all major players left, no more screens, no more defending space. Lopez rebounds like monkey Chita, and whole their team is now monkey business (the worst team in the history of nba)

[krstivoje]

We lost by 2 points and Krstic missed 2 FT's (in only 4 attempts). If he went 12-14 like Durant did

-----

you are actually chasing the wrong rainbow's pot of gold. if krstic went 14 like you said that would imply he got all those balls (7) in the paint I am suggesting he should have got in the first lace, but he didn't, and that is why we are having this discussion

[soonabooma]

The fact is.....Krstic holds us back, Collison does too. I know they're hard workers, but they can't play real ball with the kind of athletes that are in the league now. We have way too much speed and athleticism for that, and we need to know that we can put guys out there that won't get eaten for breakfast by their opponents. As far as a big man type of presence, Ibaka is the best we have. He's a KG/Bosh type of player, very long, athletic, and he can do it all. But we need to bring in some new blood, and our problem could be solved this summer. Let's all say our prayers.

[Urukgali]

you are actually chasing the wrong rainbow's pot of gold.

I would say exactly the same about you.Man just try to be objective a little bit.Maybe Krstic was a better player by the time of NJ but now he's decent at best.You want Thunder to play on Krstic to score all those points but actually he can't do much for himself.Also in that game he couldn't hit the basket standing just next to it.I remember your post about Krstic flying the highest from all those NBA centers and here in final minutes he could have the ball on the offensive end.He got space ball on tip of his hands but he could barely jump and lost it.
I'm not saying Krstic is just bad every game(i already praised him for good defensive cooperation with Maynor+i agree he knows pick and rolls)but he plays on the lower level then most of the centers in NBA right now.The idea of him being our main scorer is just silly.Yes his jump shots are sometimes usefull to pull opponents center out of the paint but you can't just rely on that one aspect of the game.Our team works great but i have to agree with some other posters(including Soona ;) ) - we need rebounds ! We need good defense at the paint ! We have got everything else.