Broadcast Information
- Tip-off: 6:00 p.m. CT
- Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
- Radio: WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network
It would be nice if the schedule just magically got easier, but the Thunder knows there’s no simple pathway in the Western Conference out of a four-game losing skid. On the second night of a back-to-back, at home against a new-look Memphis Grizzlies team, the Thunder will have to claw its way out and fight tooth and nail to come up with a precious victory to keep pace in this competitive playoff landscape.
After falling in San Antonio on Saturday night, the Thunder must bounce back by playing energetic defense and crisp offense from the very outset. Slow starts have characterized its last six performances, five of which have been losses.
All season long the Grizzlies have struggled, but with a new-look group featuring Jonas Valanciunas, Avery Bradley, CJ Miles and Delon Wright in the mix with veterans Mike Conley and Joakim Noah, Memphis has played much better. In fact, the Grizzlies just thumped the Dallas Mavericks by 30 on Saturday night, pitting a hungry Thunder squad against a Memphis squad that’s feeling good vibes.
The Thunder will need to get stops possession after possession, and that means contesting shots with a hand in the face of shooters. Against San Antonio the Thunder forced 29 non-paint two-point jump shots, but the Spurs lived in the midrange and hit 15 of them. If the Thunder can force those types of looks, but with better pressure, it will have a much higher chance of success tonight.
“There’s a difference between living with a non-paint two, but it has to be a highly contested non-paint two,” explained center Steven Adams. “If it’s a wide-open non-paint two, that’s not what we’re looking for.”
“You have to really try and contest better, make them drive, make them make a different decision, get some of these other guys involved,” Adams continued.
Offensively the Thunder will have to continue to attack the paint whenever possible, both in transition and with downhill drives from the perimeter. Post ups and any other times when the Thunder can put two defenders on the ball and quickly move the rock will help generate 3-on-2 or 2-on-1 situations on the back side of the defense.
All of that can be a challenge when the Thunder’s opponent is packing the paint, like Memphis has done at a high level against most teams this season. To thwart it, the Thunder will have to stay confident in its jump shots and knock more of them down. After all, this Thunder team shoots nearly 5 full percentage points higher from the three-point line in Oklahoma City compared to everywhere else in the league.
“Obviously they don’t want me shooting layups at the basket. It creates advantages for us, wide open shots,” said Westbrook. “I’ll live and die by that every day.”
“It’s not anything new that we haven’t seen,” said Adams. “(We) gotta just make a shot, mate.”
NEWS & NOTES
- Despite going through a solid workout before the game in San Antonio, Paul George’s status is still up in the air for this game. It’ll be a game-time decision, so check the Thunder’s social media feeds at @okcthunder for more information on whether George will play. Even if George can’t go, the Thunder maintains a stoic attitude, recognizing that it has more than enough talent to get the job done.
- “We’re missing one of our key players, one of our scorers, one of our main defensive players,” said guard Terrance Ferguson. “The next man has gotta step up. We can’t make any excuses for him being out, whether he’s here or not, no matter what we have to play basketball. That’s what we’re here for.”
- In lieu of George, Head Coach Billy Donovan and the Thunder coaching staff has opted to go with Raymond Felton off the bench to be an extra distributor and scorer. While Patrick Patterson, Hamidou Diallo and Deonte Burton must stay ready for their moments to bring size, length and energy to the court, Donovan views Felton as a pressure release valve for Westbrook and Dennis Schröder, who often benefit from having a secondary point guard on the floor with them.
- “Raymond, as another ballhandler, playmaker and guy who can make a shot, has been good for us. Raymond has given us good minutes, he’s played well,” Donovan explained. “He’s a veteran. Also, he can kind of calm down the second unit a little bit.”