We all know things tend to change in the playoffs from what happened during the regular season especially with all the injuries and lineup adjustments both Oklahoma City and Memphis made in this regular season.
The Thunder didn't have their regular starting five on the court in any of the four games they played against Memphis and what has become the Grizzlies starting five was on the floor against OKC in just two of the four games.
Read MoreFor the third time in the last four years the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies are set to meet in the NBA Playoffs.
Three seasons ago the Thunder won a thrilling seven game series that included a triple-overtime instant classic propelling them into the Western Conference Finals. Last season, again in the semifinals, the Grizzlies took advantage of the loss of Russell Westbrook to beat the Thunder in five games.
Read MoreWell this week certainly hasn't started the way I figured. You see I thought the Thunder would go up to Indianapolis, take advantage of some matchup mis-matches and take care of business against the Pacers.
Then I figured since the Pelicans hardly had enough healthy players to fill out a lineup sheet the Thunder would beat them almost no matter what.
Read MoreThe worst thing that happened in the Thunder's 102-97 loss to Indiana yesterday is that backup point guard Reggie Jackson got hurt trying to fight through a screen and his playing status is in question for tonight's game in New Orleans.
Jackson didn't return to yesterday's game in Indianapolis after running headlong into a screen being set by one of the Pacer's big men.
Read MoreAfter it appeared the Thunder had solved some critical issues now that the regular starting five is back in place, old demons reared their ugly heads Sunday in Indianapolis.
Once again the Thunder struggled to defend the perimeter, another role player went off for a big game and the Thunder took and missed too many 3-pointers.
Read MoreThe Oklahoma City Thunder got an important win last night but even more important to the upcoming playoff run is that the team appears to be healthy again.
Thunder defensive whiz Thabo Sefolosha returned to the lineup for the first time in more than a month and Kendrick Perkins was out there playing too and the Thunder beat Sacramento 107-92 thanks to a 21-2 run from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth that was fueled by stout defense.
Read MoreThe Thunder lost a game they probably should have won and lost in the disappointment of giving away a game in Houston is another division title for Oklahoma City.
When the Portland Trail Blazers lost to the Phoenix Suns the Blazers were eliminated from the race giving the Thunder their fourth straight Northwest Division Championship and the chance to hang another banner from the rafters of The Peake.
Read MoreIt was deja-vu all over again for the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night. The last time they had a really long winning streak (20 games in the 2011-12 regular season and playoffs) the Thunder ended it on the court at Chesapeake Energy Arena in the Western Conference Finals.
This time the Spurs came in streaking again, 19 straight wins to set a regular season franchise record. And once again the streak stopped inside The Peake.
Read MoreWe've had the first part of the week to talk about it and speculate. Who do the matchups favor? What will the matchups even be, with questions surrounding who will and who won't play tonight.
What we know for sure is the two best teams in the Western Conference go at each other tonight. The time for waiting and talking and speculating is just about over.
Read MoreThunder fans have been hoping that Reggie Jackson, Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins would be back in the team's lineup soon and listening to Scott Brooks after practice it sounds like that day is getting close.
Like say tomorrow.
Read MoreThese next three days should be interesting for those of us who pay attention to the Thunder and the Spurs as both teams play back-to-backs and both will face some interesting lineup decisions.
San Antonio hosts Golden State tonight, The Thunder host the Spurs tomorrow night and then Oklahoma City goes to Houston on Friday.
Read MoreThunder head coach Scott Brooks doesn't really like talking about injured players and how close, or not, they are to returning to the lineup.
Today of course he was asked about the progress of Reggie Jackson, Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins and whether they were able to participate much in Monday's practice.
Read MoreThe Thunder won't make a big deal of it publically but there's no question they're looking forward to having another crack at the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavs afterall embarrassed the Thunder on their home floor just days ago, handing the Thunder their worst home loss since the 2010-11 season and one of their worst ever.
Read MoreWe had all seen the movie before, you know the one about the hometown basketball team cruising along with a big lead and then blowing it at the end.
In fact we've not only seen it, we've seen it repeated a couple of times and it looked like we were going to see it again last night in Cleveland.
Read MoreWill he? Or won't he? Whether Thunder All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook plays tonight against Dallas or tomorrow night in Chicago against the Bulls is the question of the day.
Yesterday Thunder head coach Scott Brooks told reporters, "there's going to be some back-to-backs he's not going to play."
Read MoreIn the first half Sunday night it looked like the same old Thunder defensive struggles were back. The Charlotte Bobcats, having ripped the nets in their three previous games to the tune of 37.3 percent, shot 54.1 percent and scored 55 points in the first 24 minutes at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
That all changed in the second half.
Read MoreThunder superstar Kevin Durant said it best early this morning Oklahoma time during TNT's post game interview in Los Angeles, "we played terrible for three quarters."
Can't argue with the man there.
Read MoreThe Oklahoma City Thunder will be well represented at All-Star Weekend in New Orleans in fact it's going to look like some sort of Thunderfest with all the players, coaches and staffers who'll be there.
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