For a workforce that gained 68 video games within the common season, the 2024-25 Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder certain have extra doubters than one would count on. Many suppose that the Thunder might journey up within the earlier rounds the best way they did final yr, however they appeared to have shut that sort of discuss down actually shortly after demolishing the Memphis Grizzlies in Sport 1 of their 2025 NBA playoffs first-round matchup, 131-80, in a sport that OKC led by as many as 56 factors.
This Thunder squad is sensible, full on each ends with weapons who’ve purchased in utterly into the system head coach Mark Daigneault has in place. There isn’t a coincidence that this workforce gained 68 video games, and lots of are going to be taught the onerous manner simply how tough it will likely be to knock out the Thunder in a seven-game collection.
OKC has reached loads of nice heights up to now, however this yr is trying like their greatest probability at successful a championship but. Each championship run begins someplace, and the Grizzlies might need to name upon the ability of a better being simply so they might get an opportunity at successful a single ballgame on this collection.
With that stated, listed below are a number of daring predictions for the remainder of the Thunder’s first-round collection towards the Grizzlies.
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Thunder sweep the Grizzlies, win the collection by a median of 25+ factors
Ja Morant, following the Grizzlies’ blowout loss in Sport 1, was steadfast in his perception that the Grizzlies will not be taking part in as poorly as they did in Sport 1 for the remainder of the collection. Maybe that’s true. In spite of everything, the Grizzlies had been a playoff workforce within the loaded Western Convention, and it will be slightly dumbfounding (and maybe grounds for the franchise’s deletion from existence) in the event that they lose one other playoff sport by over 50 factors.
However this Thunder workforce has had the Grizzlies’ quantity for some time now, and never dropping by 50 is sort of a low bar for Memphis anyway. This can be an overreaction following the the Thunder’s Sport 1 dominance, nevertheless it’s simply onerous to ascertain a situation the place the Grizzlies make this collection even remotely aggressive.
For starters, the Grizzlies have crapped the mattress towards successful groups all through the 2024-25 season; of their 48 wins this previous season, solely 14 got here towards groups that completed with a .500 file or higher. Simply to make issues worse, the Thunder did not simply sweep the season collection, additionally they have gained 9 consecutive regular-season video games towards them relationship again to 2 seasons in the past.
Of these 9 video games the Thunder gained consecutively, seven have been blowout victories; the typical margin of victory for OKC throughout that span is round 16.9 factors. It is only a lopsided matchup in favor of OKC; they’re the rock to the Grizzlies’ scissors.
Now, a median margin of victory of 25 in a playoff collection is absurd. However with the Thunder having gained Sport 1 by 51 factors, OKC solely has to win the following three video games by a mixed margin of 49 factors to get to that mark. That’s doable, and even perhaps possible, contemplating that this Grizzlies workforce has been lifeless within the water for fairly a while now.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander solely averages 25 minutes within the collection
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, in Sport 1, was removed from his greatest self, and but it scarcely mattered. Despite the fact that he went simply 4-13 from the sphere for 15 factors on the evening, the Thunder star was nonetheless a +28 and his workforce nonetheless gained by an enormous margin. Because of this, he wanted to play simply 23 minutes, which, fairly frankly, might have been far too many contemplating that OKC had the sport properly in hand by the halftime interval.
Following the prediction that the Thunder blow out the Grizzlies for the following three video games of the collection, Gilgeous-Alexander will likely be restricted to such a small position that he needn’t log a heavy workload. He will likely be restricted to a median of 25 minutes within the collection as OKC seems to be to maintain him contemporary for the lengthy playoff run that appears extra possible for them than ever after their Sport 1 rout of Memphis.
Aaron Wiggins finishes the collection because the workforce’s main scorer
With the Thunder with the ability to unfold the workload round the remainder of their deep, championship-level roster, there are certain to be some unsung heroes that rise to the event. In Sport 1, Aaron Wiggins ended up main the workforce in scoring, placing up 21 factors in 26 minutes of motion.
Count on Wiggins to hold over this momentum into the remainder of the collection, ending the Thunder’s beatdown of the Grizzlies because the workforce’s main scorer.