Everything that could go wrong for the Grizzlies did on Sunday afternoon, on the road at the Paycom Center.
There was a tight lid on the rim and the Memphis Grizzlies could not buy a basket. Offense was impossible to create or come by against a stifling and hungry Oklahoma City Thunder defense.
Their poor effort translated to the other end of the floor, resulting in an explosive offensive night for the Thunder and a lackluster performance from Memphis.
Game 1 of the Western Conference first round playoff series was a laugher to say the least and convincingly went in favor of Oklahoma City. The Thunder dominated, defeating the Grizzlies by 51, 131-80.
This was Memphis’ first playoff game under interim coach Tuomas Iisalo. He coached just nine NBA regular-season games ahead of the Play-In Tournament.
“If you’re in a playoff series, it’s a best of seven,” Iisalo said. “It doesn’t matter if you win by one point on a buzzer-beater or you win by 50 points, you get one win. So luckily for us, there’s only one way from this and that’s up. And we will analyze it and learn from it. And then we will fix those things that hurt us.”
Sunday was the worst playoff loss in Grizzlies franchise history, dating back to their time in Vancouver. The previous worst outcome came in their last playoff game, a 40-point loss against the Los Angeles Lakers in April 2023. The 51-point margin was seven points shy of the record and was the largest Game 1 win in NBA playoff history.
There have been a pair of 58-point playoff margins in NBA history: the Denver Nuggets slaughtering New Orleans 121-63 in 2009 and the Minneapolis Lakers beating the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 in 1956.
Memphis did a admirable job against Thunder star and MVP front runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He finished with 15 points on 4-for-13 from the field. It was his lowest scoring game of the season. However, the entire Thunder starting five scored in double figures, led by 20 points from Jalen Williams. Chet Holmgren had a double-double, with 19 points and 10 rebounds, in only 21 minutes of playing time. The Thunder still shot a blazing 50.5% from the field.
“We played to our identity,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Nothing more, nothing less than that. We were who we were all year … and it’s going to be the key to our success, just staying true to who we are.”
Gilgeous-Alexander had said several times since Oklahoma City’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks in last season’s Western Conference semifinals that he would be cognizant about getting his teammates better prepared for this postseason.
So far, so good.
Embed from Getty Images“I have a great group of guys around me, and I know that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And I’ve known that for a long time. … They obviously played amazing.”
Ja Morant scored 17 points for Memphis on just 6-for-17 shooting. Jaren Jackson Jr., who averaged just over 22 points in the regular season, was a complete no-show, scoring four points on 2-for-13 shooting. Marvin Bagley III, the former No. 2 overall pick out of Duke, also scored 17, but the Grizzlies shot just 34.4% overall.
Memphis and Oklahoma City will be back in action in just over 48 hours on Tuesday (6:30 p.m., TNT).
The Grizzlies stuck with their same starting lineup for the third consecutive game. Memphis added Scotty Pippen Jr. to the starting five in place of Vince Williams Jr., who was previously filling in for Jaylen Wells, who is out for the season. Marvin Bagley III also stayed in the rotation after playing a vital role in Friday’s 120-106 win against the Dallas Mavericks.
Before the game, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the Grizzlies are “hard to deal with,” but their system isn’t “complicated.” The Thunder looked prepared and ready for everything Memphis threw at them in Game 1. Particularly, the Thunder thrived with terrific defense in pick-and-roll.
Memphis hung around throughout most of the opening quarter, then OKC took control. The Thunder went on a massive 34-5 run from the 2:22 mark of the first quarter until 6:53 left in the second. In that time, Memphis went from trailing by four, 21-17, to 55-22.
“I just felt like after that, the energy just kind of wasn’t there and we were just trying to talk to ourselves to get back into the game,” Morant said.
The game only ballooned from there. Memphis appeared to be overmatched against the Thunders physicality.
Morant did not have an efficient night, but he was one of the Grizzlies’ only bright spot. He scored 17 points and added four assists in 26 minutes.
Oklahoma City is the NBA’s top team at stopping points in the paint, and that is the deadliest part of Morant’s game. On Sunday, the Thunder won the battle. Going forward, Morant’s ability to shoot from the perimeter will be the key to offsetting OKC’s swarming paint presence. He shot 1-for-6 from downtown in Game 1.
It is time for the Grizzlies to erase this game from their memory and burn the tape. As ugly as Game 1 was, it only counts for one contest. The Grizzlies will need to make drastic adjustments if they want any shot of winning Game 2.
“They played 36 hours ago and had an emotional game, had to turn around and play at noon today, which is a really tough turnaround,” Daigneault said. “So, they’re going to be better Tuesday. So, I thought we did a good job. But I don’t think we can expect that from them (again). You know they’re going to play a lot better than that.”
As stated previously, Bagley provided Memphis with somewhat of a spark, scoring 17 points and making all eight of his field goal attempts, but Memphis will need more from their stars. Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane combined to shoot 5-for-25.
