The Grizzlies return home from their unexpected road beat down of the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers to host the Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s the first of four meetings between the two teams (the second is this Saturday in OKC). I’ll be on hand tonight, tweeting from courtside (follow: @FlyerGrizBlog) and following up with a post-game blog notebook later tonight. Until then, a few thoughts in advance of a potentially momentum-building game for the Grizzlies.
1. Fearing Russell Westbrook: Kevin Durant is the marquee attraction for the Thunder, but point guard sidekick Russell Westbrook has been nipping at his alpha-dog heels this season. Westbrook is averaging 22 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals and his 23.5 PER is only .3 behind Durant. Given the problems the Grizzlies have had defending dynamic opposing point guards and given the physical advantages that Westbrook — an electric athlete at 6’3″ — has over Mike Conley, I think he worries me even more than Durant.
Westbrook didn’t kill the Grizzlies last season, averaging 13/7/6 in three games, though he did put up 23/6/7 in the Thunder’s win at FedExForum. But Westbrook is a different player this season, and it will be interested how much the Grizzlies try to get defenders other than Conley on him. Obviously back-up point guard Greivis Vasquez gives the team a bigger defender on Westbrook, but the best match-ups are probably Tony Allen and O.J. Mayo.
For starters, if Conley struggles with Westbook, will the Griz move Conley onto Thunder two-guard Thabo Sefolosha, who is 6’7″ but a non-scorer, and put presumed starter Tony Allen on Westbrook? And will tonight’s match-ups present an opportunity to experiment again with the big lineup of Allen-Mayo-Rudy Gay on the perimeter, which we got a brief glimpse of last week against Toronto?
