The Memphis Grizzlies are matched up with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Unfortunately for the Griz and their fans, it’s looking like it’s going to be a rather quick series.
The teams met in Oklahoma City on Sunday, and it was as if only one team showed up to play. The Thunder won the game 131-80 in a rout that was shocking to watch.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant struggled in particular, going 6-17 from the field. However, Morant is guaranteeing that Memphis will be a different team for the rest of the series than the one from Sunday.
“We will never play that bad again,” Morant said after the game, according to ESPN.
Grizzlies interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo seems to share Morant’s sentiment. “Luckily for us, there’s only one way from this, and that’s up,” he said. “We will analyze it, we’ll learn from it, and then we will fix those things that hurt us. But there were a lot of things.”
The Thunder seem to know that they’ll be getting a different version of the Grizzlies moving forward. Thunder forward Jalen Williams admitted as much after the game.
“We kind of have to take this win, like, they’re going to be way better in Game 2,” he said. “We’re trying to not give them a lot of life in regards to that. That’s a really good team over there, so Game 2 is going to be completely different. We’re kind of competing with ourselves in a way to make sure we’re sharp for Game 2.”
Hopefully, the rest of the series is a bit more competitive.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.