The Memphis Grizzlies have the chance to take firm control of their second round Western conference playoff series on Monday night, as the Oklahoma City Thunder are down 2-1 after a tough loss on Saturday and could be down 3-1 with another defeat on the road.
The Grizzlies have been one of the best home teams throughout the playoffs by remaining undefeated and by winning six of seven games and the team can extend that strong play on Monday with a victory. Kevin Durant has been forced to be the primary everything for the Thunder since losing Russell Westbrook and he has the stats to back it up, as he is leading the team in scoring, assists and rebounds as Game 4 rolls around. Durant is playing without Westbrook for the first time in his career and while he has been scoring in bunches, the team hasn't been able to win as consistently.
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The Thunder and the Grizzlies have a history with one another and Memphis remembers how OKC took home court away once and ended up winning the series in seven games, something they are not hoping repeats itself. The Thunder looked awful on Saturday while shooting below 40 percent and the trade of James Harden to keep serge Ibaka looked bad, as he made only six shots on 17 attempts in the game and now the team is without a secondary option. Durant started the game off well before ended up making just nine of 19 and he ended up finishing with making just three of his last 11 of the game.
Durant has been producing way more since the Westbrook injury from the Houston series, but it might be at the cost of the team overall. He has improved nearly all his numbers, averaging over 30 points per game with 10 rebounds and he also is shooting over 30 percent from three points range while averaging about 22 shots per game. Mike Conley has been able to show off his skills to the Thunder without Ibaka in the mix and dispute outrebounding Memphis, OKC still lost Game 3.
The Grizzlies have a number of players who are heating up at the right time in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph as well as Tony Allen and that could be the difference on Monday. The Thunder will need better play from everyone else besides Durant, including Derek Fisher and Kevin Martin as well as Reggie Jackson, who has been solid while coming in for Westbrook.
