The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a tough position on Monday night as they play in Game 4 against the Memphis Grizzlies in their Western Conference matchup, as the team is looking more and more lost without point guard Russell Westbrook.
Star Kevin Durant has been fantastic throughout the playoffs, but without Westbrook in the lineup, the opposition is able to double team him and so far he has not been able to be completely himself on offense like he was in the opening series against Houston before Westbrook went down. The Thunder have basically been playing without him for the entire playoffs, as the injury occurred in Game 2 against the Rockets and now the Thunder have to hold tight and get a win to avoid going down 3-1 in the series after losing 87-81 on Saturday in Memphis.
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The Grizzlies have proven to be one of the better defensive teams in the league and they are also one of the most balanced with stars like Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Conley has proven to be the best point guard in the series while matching up against Reggie Jackson and he has been a steady presence for the Grizzlies as they try to take down Durant and the Thunder. Conley is averaging nearly 15 points and he has been able to get the ball in space to Gasol and Randolph as well as Tony Allen.
The Thunder also appear to be greatly missing James Harden, who they traded before the season started, as Kevin Martin has not been able to match his scoring and despite the fact that he has been solid, he hasn't come up when the team has needed him the most. The Grizzlies have experience being in their current situation in the playoffs, as they were once up 2-1 in the conference semifinal round against the Thunder before losing 133-123 in triple overtime to tie to series at 2-2, which they ultimately lost in seven games. A number of players were on that team and they are planning to use that motivation to help them win the game on Monday night.
The Grizzlies want to keep their home court advantage intact, as they were one of the best teams at their own arena in the NBA this past season, going 32-9 and two times previously in the past they blew home advantages, including to the Clippers in 2012. The team will also try to and keep things simple on Monday night, as they know how things went last time around against the Thunder and so far the team has been excellent while winning six of seven games throughout the playoffs and not dropping one at home yet. OKC was excellent on the boards and outrebounded the Grizzlies despite being outmatched in size and the team will look to do that again, especially Kevin Durant, who has been the primary everything for the Thunder, as he is leading in scoring, rebounding and assists.
