The Oklahoma City Thunder's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on April 2 might turn out to be a lot more advantageous to the Grizzlies than just picking up one win.
James Harden, Oklahoma City Thunder
Wikimedia Commons
The Thunder have little to worry about when it comes to this loss and their season's success. Heading into this game, Oklahoma City had already beaten the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls with a six-game winning streak. Losing to Memphis might just be a bump in the road for the Thunder.
However, for Memphis, this win might mean the difference between heading into the playoffs with a mental block and heading in with confidence. If the Thunder had won the game, they would have swept the Grizzlies in the regular season. Add the Thunder knocking Memphis out of the playoffs in 2011, and Memphis could have seen Oklahoma City as a hill too steep to climb.
However, Memphis beat Oklahoma City at the Chesapeake Arena, 94-88, shutting down the high powered Thunder offense while dominating them with a physical power game. Suddenly, the Grizzlies see that the Thunder are a team they can beat. When the playoffs roll around, that takes away one advantage from Oklahoma City.
All season long, the Thunder have been good at catching up from behind when teams jumped out to a big lead. Twice in the game, Memphis jumped out to a nine-point lead, and while the Thunder came within one at one point, they couldn't match the power of the Grizzlies' performance.
Add to the fact that the Memphis Grizzlies are now the underdogs, the position Oklahoma City thrived in the last two years. The Thunder no longer get the underdog title since many national analysts have picked them as the favorite to win the NBA title in 2012. This allows the Grizzlies to come in with something to prove while Oklahoma City has the added pressure of living up to expectations.
Heading into the final stretch of the 2011-12 regular season, Oklahoma City's magic number is now two to clinch the Northwest Division and home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and is an avid sports fan that has lived in Oklahoma for over 40 years. He used to religiously follow the Dallas Mavericks until Oklahoma City found a team to call their own.
Source: NBA.COM
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