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The Memphis Grizzlies were unfazed after a Game 1 blowout but Game 2's 118-99 scoreline suggests Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Oklahoma City Thunder are still unbothered by the lower-seeded squad. The Ja Morant-led high-octane, drive-and-kick offense, built around generating open three-point looks, continues to falter against the NBA's most suffocating defense. Jaylen Wells being out can only excuse so much. Memphis shot a dismal 16-for-65 (24.6%) from beyond the arc in Oklahoma City, underscoring major issues for an undermanned roster.
Tuomas Iilaso broke down the tape immediately after the Grizzlies fell behind 2-0 with the series heading to the FedEx Forum.
“It's not only the turnovers, it's the overall possession game,” Iisalo admitted. “We are losing rebounding-wise; we have had issues with offensive rebounding in this series. They have almost a 30% offensive rebounding rate. This is causing way too much pressure on our shot quality. So overall, some of the things with our turnovers are the same that we've talked about before.”
The Thunder’s dominance on the glass has allowed the NBA's best team record-wise to control tempo and capitalize in transition. The Grizzlies, who ranked among the NBA’s top offensive rebounding teams during the regular season, have been outworked on the boards.
Tuomas Iisalo's drive-and-kick, rotate-and-replace system thrives on crisp ball movement and open looks from three, but the Thunder’s defenders have consistently thwarted those efforts.
“(Oklahoma City) is very active on the ball. We have issues arriving alone, I would say. When we set a screen for one of our players to get open, (the Thunder defender) finds a way to get there,” explained Iisalo. “This is something we have to fix. It takes cooperation from all three players. From the passer, the screener, and from the guy looking to get open but too many times we cannot get into our stuff. Then we turn it over looking to get into a set. That's one of the ways (the Thunder are disruptive).”
The Grizzlies turned the ball over 15 times in Game 2 as sets were disrupted before they could develop. As a result, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.'s shot selection has to be near-perfect to even have a chance, but that has not been the case so far. Even the secondary options are being closed off before they can ever be considered.
“The second one is when we drive, the collapse,” Iisalo added. “They do a good job of staying on the passing lanes and those kick-out passes become very difficult.”
Despite the deficit, Iisalo remained optimistic about his team’s ability to adjust as the series shifts to Memphis. Tip-off for Game 3 is set for 8 p.m. CT on Saturday at FedExForum, where the Grizzlies hope to rediscover their shooting touch and climb back into the series.
