Thunder – Page 2 – Memphis Flyer

Rudy Gay went large against the Thunder.

LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
Rudy Gay went large against the Thunder.

A double-digit home win on Sunday against one of the reigning NBA Finalists, the Miami Heat, felt like a breakthrough, with a raft of national attention following in its wake. But this follow-up double-digit win over the the other reigning NBA Finalist felt like a confirmation: This year’s model of the Memphis Grizzlies is, until further notice, one of the very best teams in the NBA.

You could put a mild asterisk on the Heat win if you really wanted, based on Wayne Ellington’s career night. But there was nothing extraordinary about this one, unless you count Rudy Gay going head-to-head against one of the NBA’s two best players and coming away with something close to a draw. But Gay’s done that before. He did it on Sunday too.

Instead, this victory felt encouragingly ho-hum. Unlike most of the Thunder’s opponents so far this season, the Grizzlies got off to a slow start, struggling to get their new-and-improved offense in gear and escorting the Thunder to the foul line at the other end. But, as the game wore on, the Grizzlies’ — get this — superior overall talent wore the Thunder down, and the Grizzlies maintained a decent lead the whole second half.

The Grizzlies make their national television debut tonight with a 7 p.m. road game against the defending Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

With Sunday’s decisive victory over the defending NBA champion Miami Heat in the rear-view and a home national TV match-up with the undefeated New York Knicks looming next, this is shaping up to be one of the most compelling regular-season weeks in franchise history.

Both the Grizzlies and Thunder are among the current Top 10 in offense, defense, and rebounding and each sits one game behind the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference standings. But look a little deeper into their respective resumes and the Grizzlies’ start looks a little more impressive.

The Thunder are 6-2, but those six wins have come against teams with a combined 11-28 (they’ve played 0-8 Detroit twice). The Grizzlies are 5-1, with those five wins coming against teams with a combined 20-16 record.

Yet, despite playing a tougher schedule (the Grizzlies lost to the 5-2 Clippers, the Thunder to the 6-1 Spurs and 3-3 Hawks), the Grizzlies not only have a slightly better record but also a slightly higher point differential (+9.0 to OKC’s +7.1).

So that means the Grizzlies are winning this one, right? Probably not. A little shine might be off the Thunder since the Harden deal, but they’re still an elite team and are still playing at home.

Three thoughts in advance of tonight’s game: