After Game 1 Blowout, OKC Thunder Must be Prepared for Memphis Response

The Oklahoma City Thunder had one of the best postseason performances ever in the first game of their series against the Memphis Grizzlies.

OKC notched a commanding 131-80 victory, and didn't even a typical performance from superstar and likely MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. With a suffocating defense and solid contributions from the team's role players, the Thunder dominated most of the game.

On the sideline, Memphis looked dejected during the game as the Thunder built and maintained a massive advantage. After the contest was over, Grizzlies' star Ja Morant vowed that the team would "never play that bad again."

Memphis will have an opportunity to respond on the court on Tuesday night in what will be a crucial game in the series. If Oklahoma City is able to muster another blowout win, it would completely remove any remaining confidence from the Grizzlies locker room and make it difficult for Memphis to build any momentum in the rest of the series.

For that reason, the Thunder should expect a fiesty Memphis team to step onto the court at the Paycom Center in Game 2. The Grizzlies will have their back against the wall, and will likely be motivated coming off of a historic loss.

Additionally, a win would be a huge momentum shift as the series goes to Memphis for games three and four. Morant, a two-time All-Star, tallied a season-low 17 points in Game 1 while shooting 6-for-17 from the floor.

A talented player who still made a few impressive shots on Sunday, Morant averaged 23.2 points, 7.3 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game in the regular season while shooting 45.4% from the field and 30.9% from beyond the arc.

Morant will likely have better showings on offense throughout the series, and could have increased motivation in Game 2 after an atypical performance for the star.

While OKC will need to be prepared for a better showing from Memphis, the Thunder would still have to play significantly worse to let the Grizzlies get back into the sereis.

Oklahoma City's defense stifled Morant and company in Game 1. While the Thunder likely won't be able to get the same defensive performance in each contest, the group should still be good enough to make its series against Memphis a quick one.

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