OKC Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies; Teams that will threaten Dallas Mavericks next season (Pt-2)
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder made a major impact in the play-offs and impressed the world of NBA with their combination of talent, flair and maturity. Being the youngest side in the league, Oklahoma City stood firm against all odds
and raced away into the play-offs. After thrashing the Denver Nuggets and the Memphis Grizzlies in the first and second round of the post-season respectively, the Thunder managed to clinch the Western Conference Finals berth to take on the spirited Dallas
Mavericks.
Even though Oklahoma was able to win only one game in the series against the Mavericks, however the agility and strength demonstrated by the Thunder made the life difficult for Dallas throughout the contest. Mavericks cheered a
big advantage of the most experienced players on the roster that kept them soaring and scoring in the conference Finals.
Thunder’s youthful talent had everything on their roster except the play-off exposure. The recent meetings with the Nuggets, Grizzlies and Mavericks would have definitely given a great insight of the big platform. They defeat in
the Conference Finals was a learning experience as they will strike back stronger and thoughtful in the next season.
On top of that, the Oklahoma City carries the best shooters that can provide fireworks against any opposition at any stage. Two-time scoring champion Kevin Durant is known for his flawless shooting who enjoys a substantial support
from the prolific guard Russell Westbrook. The influential duo has been a major threat for all types of defence and has influenced the opposition commandingly. Both the players are young and agile as they will only get better with the passage of time. The
third best man in the team is James Harden who powers the team on both the ends of the court.
The Dallas Mavericks must watch out for the Oklahoma City Thunder who have the potential to race away into the NBA Finals next season.
Memphis Grizzlies
The eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies stunned the world of NBA in the first round of the play-offs when they inflicted a startling melt down over the western Conference leader San Antonio Spurs. With the beginning of the play-offs,
nobody was expecting Grizzlies will emerge as the winning team as the Spurs were the easy favourites in the matchup. However the dynamic Memphis stood confident against all the odds and became the fourth eighth seeded team in the history to knock down the
first seed in the play-offs.
The Grizzlies had a breathtaking contest with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Conference semi-finals and forced the matchup to the game 7. Memphis did a splendid job to keep themselves in a competitive position throughout the
series. However Thunder’s sharp-shooter Kevin Durant smashed the Grizzlies with a 39-point blitz in the game-7 of the tournament and eliminated them from the play-offs.
The face of the Memphis Grizzlies Zach Randolph truly had a phenomenal season and dominated the opposition with his magnificent talent. Marc Gasol has been the driving force for the team as well who kept the team on the frontline.
Accompanied with the brilliance of Randolph and Gasol, the Grizzlies earned the reputation of one of the toughest teams in the league as they will have a strong impact in the next season.
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