Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Thursday's NBA play

Play: Oklahoma City -2.5 -107

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Reasoning: Memphis was fortunate to win Game 5 as it blew a 20-point third-quarter lead. This series would be over if Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would just perform at their normal levels. I have a sneaking suspicion that they will each snap out of their funk starting Thursday. They are too good not to do so, right? I mean, Durant shooting 40% from the field, 28.6% from behind the arc and missing a tying free-throw in the waning seconds of the last contest? Really? How about Westbrook shooting 34.4% overall and only 18.4% on threes? The Grizzlies will not get 21 points off the bench from Mike Miller like they did in Game 5. Zach Randolph doesn't have another double-double in him. Memphis' point differential on the season is just +1.4. At home it's only slightly better (+2.5), and it's worse than the Thunder's +3.3 road number. The Grizzlies are just average in perimeter defense and are below average in defensive rebounding. And in free-throw shooting, they don't get to the line much and are below average in that statistic anyway. Oklahoma City also has advantages in the steals and blocks categories. This should be a fairly-easy regulation win for the Thunder. 

Record: 60-39-3 (60.6%)

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