After a huge statement win against Giannis and the second place Bucks, the Bruins in Blue started a 4 game road tilt in OKC with an absolute egg. The Thunder were without their best players SGA and Josh Giddey but it didn’t matter as they got hot early and continued to pour it on a lackadaisical Grizzlies team. Missed shots, no rotation on defense, skip passes leading to corner threes, and a 28% FG first half lead to commanding Thunder lead at the break. The Thunder started in zone defense and felt no need to get away from it as the Grizz kept putting up ill advised 3’s and not attacking with the usual fire we have been accustom to this season. The Thunder meanwhile were burying 3’s with ease led by a strong effort from Isaiah Joe and Luguentz Dort. Coming into the home tilt, the Thunder were averaging 11.5 three point makes per game but in the first half alone they hit a season high 11 3’s leading to a 21 point deficit at halftime. It was escalated by Ja getting two techs right before half from referee Ray Acosta, who dismissed him from the game for talking with a fan. Ja was obviously discussing something with a fan in the front row, not facing Acosta whatsoever, but he took offense to something he said and ended Ja’s night with 43.2 seconds left in the first half. Reports during the second half indicated he was talking to Memphis fans on the sideline and Ja said they could get it going but would need a break from the officials, with more colorful language of course. Whatever was said, Acosta felt Ja would do better to watch than participate, forcing Ja to leave with only 6 points. The Thunder bench had 43 of their 64 first half points, embarrassing the Grizzlies almost every time down the floor.

In the second half, the Thunder continued their hot shooting and buried the Grizz in an onslaught throughout most of the final 24 minutes. Missed lay ups continued, as did lazy defense, leading to a lot of wide open looks for a Thunder team that only shot 34% from 3 coming in, but elevated that to 42.2% when the Grizz only shot 26.7% on a lot of forced 3’s due to that zone defense. The biggest difference from this game and the Bucks game was the Thunder being able to get the boys from Beale off their rhythm early and keeping one of the best defensive teams in the NBA on the run. Anytime the Grizzlies made a short run, the Thunder would pour in transition 3’s and rebuild any lead they lost. Credit the Grizzlies for chipping away to get the game within 6 but it would not matter as the home team got the win 115-109, ending a 7 game win streak for the Grizz.

Thankfully that one is behind and the road trip continues. The Grizzlies fall to 19-10, including a rough 6-8 on the road. The Grizzlies seemed to be flat footed all night and behind on every pass, shot, or rebound. Minimal assists, no communication, and lack of effort, all of which are very uncharacteristic for this Memphis team, lead to a lackluster follow up to an NBA rattling win. There are no kind words to be said. We looked lazy, uninterested, and out of sorts all night. Taylor Jenkins called multiple timeouts and tried to get his guys in check. However, this one was on the players as they look unmotivated to play in what should have been an easy win to start an otherwise tough road trip. Slow, lazy, and soft would be the best way to describe the effort we saw tonight. The Block Panther was no where to be found, Dillon Brooks was a step behind all night on the defensive side, and no organization on offense lead to an uglier loss than the final score indicated. We will have to get act together to find any success during this road trip with games at Denver, Phoenix and Golden State looming. Coach Jenkins will have a lot of coaching points before the Grizzlies lace them up again on Tuesday in Denver against the Nuggets at 9 pm CT, in what will be a significantly tougher game.