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Thunder, Grizzlies meet in Memphis Friday
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 4/3/2015  at  10:53:00 AM
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (42-33)

at MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (51-24)

Tip-off: Friday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

Two teams with opposing approaches to the game, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies, matchup in a Western Conference battle this Friday night.

Oklahoma City has been a tremendous team since the All-Star break despite the absence of SF Kevin Durant, but have run into a little bit of a wall in the past week with losses in three of the past four games both SU and ATS. The offense scored 91 points or fewer twice in that time as the defense allowed the opposition to shoot a blistering 58% or better from the field twice as well. Most recently the Thunder played in a barn burner with the Mavericks and lost 135-131 as 3-point favorites at home. The Thunder let Dallas put in 56 of its 91 shots (62% FG), but made it a game due to hitting 10 more three pointers (45% 3PM). The Grizzlies have also lost three of the past four contests SU and ATS leading up to this one with two of those defeats coming on their home court. Their usually suffocating defense let opponents make more than 50% of shots twice in that time as the offense averaged a mere 89.8 PPG. They were able to earn a win in their most recent game, though, as they faced the Kings at home as 10.5-point favorites and were victorious by a score of 97-83. Memphis held Sacramento to just 33-of-81 shooting (41% FG); including a mere 5-of-16 (32% 3PM) from behind the arc. OKC would much rather be playing this game at home as they are a putrid 15-23 SU (15-22-1 ATS) when on the road as the Grizzlies have compiled a record of 28-9 SU (18-18-1 ATS) in front of their hometown fans. This will be the fourth meeting between these clubs on the year and the first three have been low scoring affairs with the average total being 177.7 PPG as Memphis has gone 2-1 SU (1-2 ATS). The last time they saw each other in this venue was on January 31st and it was an ugly one as the Grizzlies won 85-74 behind two shooting performances at 37% FG or worse and 17 turnovers by the visiting Thunder. Overall in the past three seasons it has been a great series, with Memphis holding a slight 12-10 SU (13-8-1 ATS) edge, but winning just one of the past three at home. Trends show that Oklahoma City has gone 27-12 ATS (69%) after failing to cover three of the past four ATS in the past three seasons as the Grizzlies are 5-1 ATS after having lost three of their past four contests this year. There are a ton of injuries to consider when looking at this matchup as SF Kevin Durant (Foot), PF Serge Ibaka (Knee), PF Nick Collison (Ankle) and SF Andre Roberson (Ankle) are out for the Thunder and they also have C Steven Adams (Ankle) listed as questionable. For Memphis, SG Tony Allen (Hamstring) is doubtful while PF Zach Randolph (Elbow) is probable to play.

Can the Thunder earn a big road victory over the Grizzlies on Friday? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 54% ATS record (193-166-2) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a huge 60% ATS (193-130-4) record since Jan. 2, led by StatFox Brian who has a lofty 61% ATS (25-16-1) mark in Best Bets since Feb. 4, and is now 57% ATS (64-48-1) in season Best Bets. StatFox Gary has a strong 55% ATS (36-29-1) mark in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and is 55% ATS (61-51-1) this season. StatFox Scott is also sizzling with a 60% ATS record (43-29-1) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 55% ATS (62-50-1) for the season. StatFox Dave is a scorching 65% ATS (30-16) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 28, while StatFox Zach is a robust 64% ATS (41-23-1) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 2.

The Thunder have progressively improved on the offensive end throughout the year and now rank fifth in the league with 103.6 PPG behind 44.8% shooting as a group (13th-worse in league). They’ve struggled on defense, though, with opponents netting 101.3 PPG (10th-worst in league) on 43.6% shooting (4th in league). PG Russell Westbrook (27.6 PPG, 8.7 APG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 SPG) had yet another triple-double (31 points, 11 assists, 11 rebounds) in the loss to Dallas on Wednesday, but has been shooting horrible lately with a meager 37% of shots dropping over the past five games. In the two contests that he has seen Memphis this year, Westbrook has gone for 19.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 7.0 APG. C Enes Kanter (15.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG) has been playing some phenomenal basketball since joining his new team and has averaged 17.9 PPG with 11.0 RPG over 19 games as he has 13 double-doubles. He met with the Grizzlies twice as a member of the Jazz, scoring 14.5 PPG to go with 9.5 RPG. SG Anthony Morrow (10.5 PPG) has needed to increase his scoring output with so many players out and certainly did so on Wednesday as he went for 32 points on 11-of-16 shooting in a losing effort. He’s done little against Memphis in two matchups this year with 5.5 PPG.

The Grizzlies aren’t all that intimidating on offense where they are netting 98.6 PPG (13th-worst in league) on 45.8% shooting (9th in league). Their bread-and-butter is on the defensive end as they are giving up a miniscule 95.5 PPG (2nd in league) and letting 44.3% of opponents shots to drop (12th in league). C Marc Gasol (17.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.6 BPG) did a little of everything (8 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 block) against the Kings, but is shooting just 45.6% from the field in the past five outings. His numbers (10.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.5 BPG) aren’t all too impressive against the Thunder this year, but he did have his best performance (15 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) in the confines of his home stadium. PF Zach Randolph (16.3 PPG, 10.6 RPG) has really fallen off in his last five outings, scoring 14.6 PPG (50% FG) to go with 6.6 RPG. He’ll hope to rebound against an OKC group which he has gone for 17.7 PPG (37% FG) and 12.0 RPG against this year over three opportunities. PG Mike Conley (16.0 PPG, 5.3 APG, 1.3 SPG) has also had issues on the offensive end over the past five games with 11.4 PPG (40% FG) and 5.0 APG. He really didn’t do much (9.0 PPG, 1.5 APG) in the last two meetings with the Thunder after opening the season series against them with a nice 20-point, five-assist showing in November.


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