ARCHRIVALS
ALWAYS EXPECT HIGH DRAMA WHEN THUNDER, GRIZ SHARE COURT.
They have needed three overtimes to decide a critical playoff game and steel doors to provide a barrier when their burly big men tried to clash off the court.
The Grizzlies’ brief but storied history with the Oklahoma City Thunder has never been drama-free. And here they go again. For the third time in the past four postseasons, these two Western Conference contenders will clash, beginning Saturday when the best-of-seven, first-round series tips off at 8:30 p.m. in Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Oklahoma City is the No. 2 seed. Memphis owns the seventh seed.
The Griz have won 14 games in the head-to-head matchup, including playoff meetings, since the start of the 2010-11 season. The Thunder won 13 times during that span. Both squads have knocked the other out of the postseason in the Western Conference semifinals.
And now that you know all of the particulars, forget about it. These teams have historically been so evenly matched that the series is too close to call.
“Oklahoma City is always the team we’ve got to beat to get where we want to go,” Griz guard Mike Conley said. “They’re a very good team. They’ve got the same guys and it’s going to be another good series.”
Facing the Thunder is certainly less daunting for the Griz than the alternative, the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. Oklahoma City’s 3-1 series edge this season doesn’t necessarily prove anything, no more than the Grizzlies’ five-game triumph during last season’s Western Conference semifinals.
No game in last year’s West semifinals was decided by more than six points even though the Thunder played without injured guard Russell Westbrook.
“It’s going to be which style of play is more forceful,” Griz coach Dave Joerger said. “If we can play them slow, get them to play slow and in the mud, as Zach (Randolph) always says. Or if they turn it into a racehorse game, that’s going to be tough for us.”
The Griz and Thunder largely are the same teams they’ve been the past few seasons. Both rosters essentially have the same core players, mutual disdain and belief in what it takes to win.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks told The Oklahoman. It’s us against them. They’re a very good basketball team.”
Professional sports rivalries require several ingredients. The adversaries generally meet in meaningful games for a number of years. They usually play with distinct styles, and the coaches and players have to have a mutual respect.
Rivalries in sports often lead to fantastic games, compelling trash talk and memorable episodes outside the boundaries of play.
That’s why the team that maintains its composure will probably score more and win.
It’s easier said than done. Just ask Griz forward Randolph. He was fined $25,000 for blasting through steel doors in an attempt to find the Thunder locker room and get to center Kendrick Perkins during a 2012 regular-season game.
Both players had been ejected for their fiery antics.
The Griz couldn’t pull out a triple-overtime thriller in Game 4, so instead of going up 3-1, the Griz ended the night knotted at 2-2 and Oklahoma City went on to win in seven games.
“It’s going to take a lot of focus energy and togetherness to win the series,” Randolph said. “It’s going to be physical. They’re going to be scheming for me and Marc (Gasol). We know what it’s going to be like. We know each other. We’re both teams that know we can win on each other’s court. We both believe we can win the series.”