The Grizzlies pulled off a shocking defeat of the #1 seed Spurs last night, so they are feeling pretty good about themselves. The Thunder have been rested up a little bit after beating the Nuggets in five games. Here is a look at the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD: Mike Conley only shot 39.5% from the floor against the Spurs, but he was solid overall going toe to toe with Tony Parker. Conley played in 6 games (all starts) against the Spurs and he averaged 38.3 minutes, 14.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. Conley will have to make sure he takes his fair share of shots in this series to keep Russell Westbrook busy on both ends of the basketball court.

Russell Westbrook will need to shoot a little better in this series as he only hit 39.6% from the floor against the Nuggets. Westbrook played in 5 games (all starts) against the Nuggets and he averaged 36.2 minutes, 23.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. Westbrook is a big key to this series, because when he’s on, he’s really hard to stop.

EDGE: THUNDER

SHOOTING GUARD: Tony Allen has been a really solid player this season for the Grizzlies and I look for that to continue in this series. Allen played in 6 games (all starts) against the Spurs and he averaged 26.7 minutes, 9.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Allen plays hard on both ends of the court.

Thabo Sefolosha only shot 37.5% from the floor against the Nuggets, but his game is defense. Sefolosha played in 5 games (all starts) against the Nuggets and he averaged 21.4 minutes, 5.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Allen is not a top guard offensively, so Sefolosha might not play as much as he did against the Nuggets.

EDGE: GRIZZLIES

SMALL FORWARD: Sam Young has been a solid player for the Grizzlies this season but he’s going to have his hands more than full in this series. He’s going to need help on defense in trying to corral Kevin Durant. Young played in 6 games (all starts) against the Spurs and he averaged 22.2 minutes, 9.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He did shoot 51.1% from the floor against the Spurs, so maybe he’ll shoot a little more in this series to make Durant work more on the defensive end of the court.

Kevin Durant is the best player in basketball right now, period! He proved it in the first round of the playoffs as he was taking and making all of the big shots for the Thunder. Durant played in 5 games (all starts) against the Nuggets and he averaged 41.8 minutes, 32.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.o blocked shot per game. I don’t see the Grizzlies being able to slow down Kevin Durant in this series.

EDGE: GIGANTIC FOR THE THUNDER

POWER FORWARD: Zach Randolph is the main man offensively for the Grizzlies and they need him to come up big in this series. He played in 6 games (all starts) against the Spurs and he averaged 37.3 minutes, 21.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He shot 50% from the floor against the Spurs but that might be a little tougher in this series.

Serge Ibaka is a beast in the paint and he will be all over Zach Randolph in this series. Ibaka played in 5 games (all starts) against the Nuggets and he averaged 31.8 minutes, 10.2 points, 11.0 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 4.8 blocked shots per game. Ibaka has really stepped up since the playoffs has begun and he’s likely to be a force in the paint, especially on the defensive end of the court.

EDGE: SLIGHT FOR GRIZZLIES

CENTER: Marc Gasol really stepped up for the Grizzlies against the Spurs and they will need another outstanding effort in this series from him. Gasol played in 6 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies against the Spurs and he averaged 40.3 minutes, 14.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Gasol shot 53.3% from the floor against the Spurs as he was outstanding. It’s going to be a battle in the paint against the Thunder, so the Grizzlies need Gasol to bring his A-Game every night.

Kendrick Perkins was brought in by the Thunder for a series like this one. They need him to play good defense and to get a lot of rebounds, while playing really physical. Perkins played in 5 games (all starts) against the Nuggets and he averaged 25.8 minutes, 5.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

EDGE: GRIZZLIES

BENCH: The Grizzlies have tightened up the playing rotation for the bench in the playoffs. Shooting guard O.J. Mayo could get more P.T. than he did in the first round of the playoffs. He played in 6 games (0 starts) against the Spurs and he averaged 22.3 minutes, 9.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Darrell Arthur will be the top big man off the bench for the Grizzlies in this series. He played in 6 games (0 starts) against the Spurs and he averaged 16.5 minutes, 8.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Shane Battier is going to have a big role in this series because of his defense as he will get his fair share of minutes trying to check Kevin Durant. Battier played in 6 games (0 starts) against the Spurs and he averaged 27.0 minutes, 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Rookie point guard Greivis Vasquez will get any scrap minutes if Conley gets into foul trouble or needs a break. Vasquez played in 6 games (0 starts) against the Spurs and he averaged 10.2 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

The Thunder don’t use the bench much except for shooting guard James Harden. Harden played in 5 games (0 starts) against the Nuggets and he averaged 30.0 minutes, 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. He only shot 38.2% from the floor against the Nuggets and the Thunder need him to do better in this series. PF/C Nick Collison provided some needed muscle against the Nuggets. He played in 5 games (0 starts) against the Nuggets and he averaged 20.0 minutes, 5.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Point guard Eric Maynor will give Russell Westbrook a break whenever he needs one. Maynor played in 5 games (0 starts) against the Nuggets and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Daequan Cook (2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds) and Nazr Mohammed (1.2 points and 2.0 rebounds) also could pitch in for the Thunder in this series.

EDGE: GRIZZLIES

COACHING: Lionel Hollins really has coached up the Grizzlies as they weren’t too good when he got there a few years ago. But, he outcoach Greg Popovich in the first round of the playoffs which amazed me. Hollins has a career record of 4-2 (66.7%) in the playoffs.

Scott Brooks outmatched George Karl in the first round of the playoffs, but he had the better team. He likely has the better team again, but, he’s only 6-5 (54.5%) in his career in the playoffs.

EDGE: EVEN

PREDICTION: The Thunder are probably going to make semi-short work of the Grizzlies in six games.

The Thunder only shot 36.6% from the floor but they did outrebound the Nuggets 51-38 which aided them to victory. The Thunder outscored the Nuggets 28-21 in the 4th quarter to surge to a impressive home win. Kevin Durant led the way for the Thunder last night with 41 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots. Russell Westbrook (14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal) and Rich Harden (12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) also had solid games. Kendrick Perkins was tough around the basket as he finished up with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist last night. The Thunder move on to the second round of the playoffs after defeating the Nuggets 4-1.

The Thunder outrebounded the Nuggets 50-44 and they held the Nuggets to 38.6% shooting from the floor, but they still lost last night in Denver. Kevin Durant led the way for the Thunder last night with 31 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Russell Westbrook only shot 12 of 30 from the floor but he still finished up with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shots. Serge Ibaka had another outstanding game with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. The Thunder are still in the driver’s seat in this series as they are up 3-1.

The Thunder didn’t play too well offensively last night as they only shot 36.3% from the floor but in the end it didn’t matter much. They outrebounded the Nuggets 49-43 last night and they held them to 37.2% shooting from the floor. The Thunder outscored the Nuggets 26-21 in the 4th quarter to surge to a very nice road win last night. Kevin Durant (26 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocked shots on 7 of 22 shooting from the floor) and Russell Westbrook (23 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists) led the way for the Thunder last night. But, it was Serge Ibaka who was the key player as he ruled the paint for the Thunder. Ibaka finished up with 22 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocked shots last night. James Harden pitched in with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals last night. The Thunder are now up 3-0 on the Nuggets in this series.

The Thunder dominated the Nuggets last night. They outrebounded the Nuggets 54-31 last night and they held them to 39.1% shooting from the floor, which were the big reasons for the win. Kevin Durant (23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) and Russell Westbrook (21 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) led the way for the Thunder last night. James Harden was solid off the bench last night with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 28 minutes. Serge Ibaka (12 points and 12 rebounds), Nick Collison (10 points and 8 rebounds) and Kendrick Perkins (7 points and 11 rebounds) ruled the paint for the Thunder last night. The Thunder are now up 2-0 in this series as it shifts to Denver for the weekend.