The Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder are playing live on the NBA schedule on Wednesday night and the matchup from the Chesapeake Energy Arena starts up at 8 pm ET as Marc Gasol, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook take the court in a western conference showdown as OKC tries to get into solid playoffs position.
The Grizzlies come into the game as a top two team in the west, while the Thunder are just trying to make it into the playoffs. The Grizzlies have been one of the most consistent teams in the league this season and they are first in the southwest division, which is just stacked this year. The Grizzlies have a tough game leading into the All-Star break with OKC and coming out they have the Blazers and that will be on the road.
The team comes in after a win against the Nets and that was at home and now they travel to play against the Thunder. The Grizzlies got 19 points from Zach Randolph, while Gasol had 11 rebounds and has continued to have a fantastic season. Gasol has emerged as one of the best players in the NBA over the past few years and he is putting up career numbers on offense this season as he heads into free agency.
The Grizzlies are 12th in the league in scoring while averaging 100 points per game and they have the top ranked defense by points allowed per game. The team has the chance to make a deep run this year and while they are expected to keep Gasol, he will be a main target for teams on the market. The team is three games up on Houston and Gasol is leading the team in scoring while scoring a career high 18 points per game and putting up strong rebounding numbers once again.
The Thunder had to deal with playing without Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant for a long stretch to start the season and now they are trying to get into the playoffs. The team has work to do and while they are just second in the northwest division, it says more about the division than the Thunder. The team is eight games back of Portland and Denver has not been great and now the team is just trying to sneak into the postseason in a tough western conference.
OKC comes into the game after a win over the Nuggets and they will next play against the Mavericks after the All-Star break is over. The team comes in at 27-25 and they are ranked 14th in the league in scoring. The team got 40 points from Durant against the Nuggets and nine assists from Westbrook and now those two will try and lead their team to the playoffs and hopefully a win against a tough Grizzlies team.
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