Oklahoma City Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 19/04/2025, 13:58  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 19/04/2025 at 14:01 in NBA Predictions

Sunday’s opening match in the NBA Playoffs will come from the Paycom Center, where the Oklahoma City Thunder will play host to the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1. The Cavs clinched the number one seed in the Western Conference, while the Grizz secured eighth last week. Let’s get into the match prediction.

The omen is good for the Oklahoma City Thunder after winning a franchise-high 68 games in the regular season. Only six teams have ever won as many in an NBA season, and four went on to win the championship. 

The driving force behind their success this season has been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 36.3 points and seven assists on 53.7% shooting in the 4-0 series sweep between these sides. 

However, while OKC are incredible on offence, they’re even better on defence, where they allowed an average of just 107.5 PPG this season - third-best in the league. 

Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies kept their championship hopes alive by beating the Dallas Mavericks in an elimination game after losing to the Warriors in the battle for the seventh seed. 

Memphis endured a rocky end to the season, ending 4-6 in their last 10 games, a period during which they axed Taylor Jenkins and appointed Tuomas Iisalo as his successor.

The Grizz had no answer to SGA this season, and with Jaylen Wells - arguably their best perimeter defender - out for this series, it will be interesting to see how they handle the OKC guard in this match.