When the Oklahoma City Thunder meet the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, the series season averages speak volumes.
Memphis and Oklahoma City played four times during the regular season, with the Grizzlies winning three. All of those games were played before the Thunder acquired Kendrick Perkins from the Boston Celtics.
Trading for Perkins was perhaps the best move any team pulled off this season. Oklahoma City knew they didn’t have enough interior muscle to deal with Memphis and the Los Angeles Lakers, but now the Thunder have someone who can bang with those team’s big guys.
The statistics show that Perkins’ presence will be paramount in the Thunder’s ability to win the series against Memphis.
Both teams averaged an identical 47.9 percent from the field in their four regular season meetings, with the Thunder holding advantages in free throw percentage (76.9 to 69.1), three-point percentage (34.3 to 23.0) and they held an edge in rebounding (42.5 to 39.3).
But the most telling statistic was the Grizzlies’ huge advantage in the paint, where they averaged 57 points a game while the Thunder averaged 44.
The Grizzlies’ also forced more turnovers per game than the Thunder (14.8 to 12.0) and had more steals (9.3 to 5.0).
The Thunder and Grizzlies match up pretty well, but even with the addition of Perkins Memphis will have more muscle in the paint. Oklahoma City is more athletic than Memphis, but the Grizzlies are clearly the better defensive team.
The keys to the series will be Memphis’ ability to prevent Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook from going off and getting Perkins into foul trouble. The Grizzlies know they aren’t going to shut down Durant and Westbrook, but they can force other players to beat them.
Tony Allen has the unenviable task of guarding Durant and he’ll get help off the bench from Shane Battier. Westbrook is the biggest matchup problem for the Grizzlies, with Mike Conley giving up five inches in height.
If he can’t prevent Westbrook from driving the lane at will, Memphis is going to be in trouble. The Grizzlies will have to continue getting solid minutes from O.J. Mayo, Darrell Arthur and Greivis Vasquez.
Memphis coach Lionel Hollins may also use veteran forward Leon Powe more in this series for no other reason than to give Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol few extra minutes of rest.
Boston versus Miami and the Lakers matchup against the Mavericks will get a lot more attention, but of all the semifinal series the Grizzlies and Thunder could have the most entertaining.
The dates have been set for the Grizzlies-Thunder series with tip-off times and television networks for the first four games.
Game 1 Sunday, May 1 Oklahoma City Noon ABC
Game 2 Tuesday, May 3 Oklahoma City 8:30 p.m. TNT
Game 3 Saturday, May 7 Memphis 4 p.m. ESPN
Game 4 Monday, May 9 Memphis 8:30 p.m. TNT
Game 5 (If Necessary) Wednesday, May 11 Oklahoma City TBD TNT
Game 6 (If Necessary) Friday, May 13 Memphis TBD ESPN
Game 7 (If Necessary) Sunday, May 15 Oklahoma City TBD TBD
| Oklahoma City-Memphis Season Series Averages | |||||||||
| Team | FG% | FT% | 3PT% | Rebs | Paint Pts | TO’s | Stls | ||
| Thunder | 47.9 | 76.9 | 34.3 | 42.5 | 44.0 | 14.8 | 5.0 | ||
| Grizzlies | 47.9 | 69.1 | 23.0 | 39.3 | 57.0 | 12.0 | 9.3 | ||
