The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies will be playing in what should be a tight series in the Western Conference Semifinals. Join us here at Bankroll Sports, as we look at the Grizzlies vs. Thunder series schedule, as well as many our series predictions for what should be one of the top series to pay attention to in the second round of the playoffs.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Playoff Schedule

Grizzlies Win Series 4-1

Game 1: Memphis Grizzlies 91 – Oklahoma City Thunder 93
Game 2: Memphis Grizzlies 99 – Oklahoma City Thunder 93
Game 3: Oklahoma City Thunder 81 – Memphis Grizzlies 87
Game 4: Oklahoma City Thunder 97 – Memphis Grizzlies 103 (OT)
Game 5: Memphis Grizzlies 88 – Oklahoma City Thunder 84

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Series Odds at
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Memphis Grizzlies -765
Oklahoma City Thunder +515
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Grizzlies vs. Thunder Series Updates
Game 1: The Grizzlies had every chance in the world to get the first game of this series, but it was F Kevin Durant that managed to take over and win the game in the fourth quarter. Memphis blew a 10-point lead in the second half, and that isn’t going to cut it in this series. Durant scored 35 points with 15 boards and six assists, and though the rest of the team only had seven assists in total, getting 25 points from G Kevin Martin really helped. Both F Zach Randolph and C Marc Gasol had double-doubles for the Grizz, but it wasn’t enough in the end. G Quincy Pondexter missed the first of three free throws that would have sent the game to overtime, and he was forced to miss the third foul shot to try to tie the game, but Memphis wasn’t able to get another shot off. Thunder 93 – Grizzlies 91 (Thunder Lead Series 1-0)

Game 2: For the second straight game, the Thunder and the Grizzlies came right down to the wire, and the end result was a very close game that could have gone either way. This time around though, it was G Mike Conley Jr. who came through in a huge way, scoring 26 points with 10 boards and nine assists to lead the way for the Grizz. Memphis continues to have its way on the glass, winning that battle 43-35 on the day, including going +8 on the offensive boards. Oklahoma City turned the ball over 21 times in the game as well, and that really erased the fact that F Kevin Durant scored 36 points with 11 rebounds and nine dimes. Grizzlies 99 – Thunder 93 (Series Tied 1-1)

Game 3: Though the Thunder ultimately lost by six points and didn’t cover the NBA odds in this one, they really were unlucky to not win this game. Oklahoma City didn’t score a single point in the final two and a half minutes of the game, and F Kevin Durant went the final three and a half minutes with a score. Durant once again got his points with 25, and he led the team in rebounds (11) and assists (5). However, the rest of the team had a total of just five assists, and as we have said all postseason long since G Russell Westbrook got hurt, that isn’t going to cut it. There weren’t any truly flashy stats for the Grizz in this one, as their leader was C Marc Gasol with 20 points and nine rebounds. However, in the end, the shots were falling for Memphis, and they weren’t for Oklahoma City. It was a great defensive game that could have easily gone either way. Grizzlies 87 – Thunder 81 (Grizzlies Lead Series 2-1)

Game 4: This is most certainly the one that the Thunder let get away. They were up 17 points in the second quarter of Game 4 on the road, and those are the types of games that you just can’t let slip in a best-of-seven series when you have already let home court advantage get out of your hands. The Thunder just couldn’t buy a shot in the second half and in overtime, and they scored jsut a total of 41 points in the final 29 minutes of the game. F Kevin Durant had 27 points, seven assists, and seven boards, and the difference in this one is that the team actually helped him out a bit. Four others scored in double figures, and G Reggie Jackson even had eight assists to go with his 15 points. Still, it was the power of the “big three” for the Grizzlies that got the job done. C Marc Gasol and F Zach Randolph both scored 23 points and had double-doubles, while G Mike Conley Jr. scored 24 to lead the way for Memphis. Now, the Grizzlies are a win away from the Western Conference Finals. Grizzlies 103 – Thunder 97 (OT) (Grizzlies Lead Series 3-1)

Game 5: For the first time in the playoffs, F Kevin Durant had a bad game, and the end result was his team’s elimination from the playoffs. Sure, Durant scored 21 points, but he only shot 5-of-21 from the field, and he didn’t make a three-point basket all game long. Oklahoma City shot just 36.9 percent from the field, and it ended up committing 25 fouls over the course of the game as well. Meanwhile, it was more of the same for the Grizz. F Zach Randolph had 28 points and 14 boards, while G Mike Conley Jr., in spite of his bad shooting night, still had 13 points, 11 assists, and seven boards. Memphis is off to its first conference finals in team history, and for the second time in these playoffs, it has a four-game winning streak. Grizzlies 88 – Thunder 84 (Grizzlies Win Series 4-1)

2013 Grizzlies vs. Thunder Series Preview

Had you told an NBA expert handicapper two weeks ago that the Thunder would be underdogs in the Western Conference Semifinals, they would have told you that you were insane. After all, Oklahoma City was up 3-0 against the Houston Rockets and looked poised to move onto this round with ease. However, what we found out over the course of these last few games is that the team isn’t ready to win a title without G Russell Westbrook in the fold.

Westbrook is now out for the rest of the playoffs after going through some knee surgery just before Game 3 against the Rockets. Perhaps Houston was a better team than we all gave it credit for, but the truth of the matter is that F Kevin Durant isn’t a point guard. He is trying to do the job, as he led the team in assists in the first round, averaging 7.0 per game. Of course, he was also second on the team in rebounding at 7.8 boards per game and easily the leading scorer at 32.5 points per game as well. The question is going to be whether G Reggie Jackson can make up for what Westbrook is no longer bringing to the table. We do give credit to Jackson for averaging 14.0 points per game in the opening round and shooting 46.2 percent from the field, but he hasn’t been a key ball distributor, and that’s what the team really needs at the moment.

Memphis is actually the slight favorite for the time being, and many think that it might not just win this series, but win it with ease. The club actually won the final four games of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the favored Los Angeles Clippers, though we do have to recognize the fact that three of those four games were at home at the FedEx Forum. The Grizz play suffocating defense, and they held the Clips down to just 91.0 points per game in the last five games of the series. It was the offense that shined that was a bit shocking. Memphis only scored triple digits in one of its 13 games prior to Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs. In the last three games though, the team scored 104, 103, and 118 points. F Zach Randolph, G Mike Conley, and C Marc Gasol all averaged at least 17.3 points per game for the team this year, and if that’s the way that these three are going to play for the whole postseason, the Grizzlies might be legitimate contenders to win the whole enchilada.

Recent history is on the side of the Grizzlies. They have won three of the last four meetings, though they only went 2-2 ATS in those games. The one failure came in March when they won 90-89 in overtime as a 1 ½-point favorite. Remember that all of those games came with both Durant and Westbrook in the fold. We might be overreacting to what we saw in that series against Houston, but the argument could have been made that the Thunder should have been beaten 4-1 in that first round series. We think that will be approximately the final score of this series as well. We want the Grizzlies on our side, even as the short favorites against a team that won 60 games in the regular season.

Grizzlies vs. Thunder Series Prediction: Memphis Grizzlies in 5

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The NBA playoff odds are posted all over the internet, and here at Bankroll Sports, we are going to be taking an updated look at the Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat series. We’ll go game by game and updated all of the NBA odds and final scores for each of the series, so be sure to join us throughout this series, as we will be keeping this and all of the posts up to date for the NBA playoffs.

Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat NBA Playoff Schedule

Heat Win Series 4-1

Game 1: Chicago Bulls 93 – Miami Heat 86
Game 2: Chicago Bulls 78 – Miami Heat 115
Game 3: Miami Heat 104 – Chicago Bulls 94
Game 4: Miami Heat 88 – Chicago Bulls 65
Game 5: Chicago Bulls 91 – Miami Heat 94

Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat Series Odds at
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Chicago Bulls +35000
Miami Heat -100000
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Bulls vs. Heat Series Updates
Game 1: Even the most staunch Chicago fan couldn’t have seen this one coming! In spite of the fact that the Bulls didn’t have either F Luol Deng or G Kirk Hinrich, they still were able to lock down defensively and hold the sluggish Heat to just 86 points, including only 37 in a very suspect first half that has to concern the champs. F LeBron James, G Dwyane Wade, and F Chris Bosh, who are used to combining for at least 60 points on a nightly basis, had just 47 between them on Monday, and that really was the difference in the game. Chicago used G Marco Belinelli and F Jimmy Butler for a total of 95 minute between them, and that was the difference in the game. Butler scored 21 and had 14 boards. G Nate Robinson scored 27 and had nine assists. Bulls 93 – Heat 86 (Bulls Lead Series 1-0)

Game 2: There was no G Kirk Hinrich and no F Luol Deng for the straight game in this series, yet this time around, the Bulls absolutely got their butts kicked, particularly in a stretch of 20:15 when the game went from 42-38 to 104-58. The de facto 62-20 run was one of the most impressive things that we have seen in our time of watching basketball, and we have seen some pretty darn impressive things. The Heat never really had to break a sweat in this one, as it was over from the get go. Six players logged double-digits of points for Miami, and those six outscored the entire Chicago team by 19 points. Forget about the others who tallied another 18. This could have been a 50-point game if the Heat had wanted it to be. Heat 115 – Bulls 78 (Series Tied 1-1)

Game 3: Once again, all of the players for the Bulls that we have been mentioning as players that have been sitting sat in Game 3, and the end result once again didn’t go Chicago’s way. It was another game littered with technical fouls, and C Nazr Mohammed was ejected after he shoved F LeBron James. Needless to say, that wasn’t what Head Coach Tom Thibodeau needed, knowing that he was already going to play four players at least 42 minutes in this game. The Bulls simply ran out of gas in the final stanza of this one, as they were level going into the fourth quarter and were unlucky to at least not cover the spread. C Chris Bosh scored 20 and brought down 19 rebounds to lead the way in a game in which Chicago really had just about everything going the way that it wanted. Miami helped salt the game away by shooting 26-of-30 from the charity stripe. Heat 104 – Bulls 94 (Heat Lead Series 2-1)

Game 4: The white flag isn’t quite in the air yet, but we’re hearing a fat lady starting to sing, and we think that she’s located in South Beach. G Dwyane Wade tweaked his knee again in Game 4, but that was about the only bit of bad news for Miami in this one. F LeBron James did his thing, scoring 27 points with eight assists and seven boards, while F Chris Bosh was the only other double-digit scorer on the team with 14 points. The impressive stats all came on the other side of the court. The Bulls were held to just 19 field goals for the game, and they had only 42 points through three quarters before scoring 23 in the fourth. G Nate Robinson shot just 0-of-12 from the field, and even if you take that out, the rest of the team only shot 30.6%. There’s nothing left that Chicago can do to stop its pending extinction this season. Heat 88 – Bulls 65 (Heat Lead Series 3-1)

Game 5: We’ll say this about Chicago: It never gave up. The Heat threatened early to blow Chicago out of the water for the fourth straight game. Head Coach Tom Thibodeau and company erased a 17-point deficit though, and the Bulls ultimately build a double-digit lead of their own late in the third quarter. There just wasn’t enough gas left in the tank though, as Miami outscored Chicago 28-14 over the course of the last 14 minutes of the game to win by three. Four players scored at least 15 points for the Bulls in defeat. F LeBron James scored 23 points in spite of his 5-of-14 shooting performance. G Dwyane Wade, playing on a bad knee, scored 18 and had six assists and five boards. Now, the Heat will have at least three days off, and potentially as much as a week off to rest to get ready for the Eastern Conference Finals. Heat 94 – Bulls 91 (Heat Win Series 4-1)

2013 Bulls vs. Heat Series Preview

Just as the New England Patriots were basically convinced that they had a bye through the first two rounds of the playoffs in the AFC this year, the Heat probably can be convinced that they have a bye in the first two rounds of the playoffs this year in the Eastern Conference as well. They made it through their first round without any hassles against the Milwaukee Bucks, taking all four games with ease. Now, they get the Bulls, who had to play a full seven games, including a triple-overtime game in Game 4, and who are incredibly banged up coming into this series.

It’s anyone’s guess as to whether G Derrick Rose is really going to try to suit up or not for this series. In the end, we have to think that Rose is done for the year, even if Chicago gets out of this series. The rest of the team is going to have to pick up the slack around him, and many of the bodies that would be in those roles are hurting as well. C Joakim Noah doesn’t show up on the injury report any longer even though he is playing through plantar fasciitis. Meanwhile, F Luol Deng was hospitalized prior to Game 6 against the Brooklyn Nets and might miss at least the start of this series. G Kirk Hinrich missed three of the seven games against the Nets with a hamstring problem. That being said, G Nate Robinson was able to really step up and have some big, big moments against Brooklyn, and he was actually the second leading scorer at 17.0 points per game in that first series. F Carlos Boozer was a rock in the middle for Head Coach Tom Thibodeau on both sides of the court, and he ended up averaging 17.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for the series, shooting 54.5 percent from the field.

And then there are the Heat, who were so not worried about Game 4 against the Milwaukee Bucks that they let G Dwyane Wade sit out for the game. Wade only averaged 13.7 points per game, and it almost seemed like he and his teammates were toying with Milwaukee. F LeBron James only averaged 37 minutes per game, and we know that he has the ability to play 45 minutes per game if he needs to as we go on in the second season. F Chris Bosh only averaged 12.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, and he too, is capable of much, much more. This is going to be a tougher series for sure for all of the Heat players, and virtually everyone is going to have to step it up. That being said, there is no doubt who the superior of these two teams are.

The Heat are going to have a score to settle with the Bulls. Chicago was the team that ended their 27-game winning streak back in the end of March. The Bulls also won a game earlier this year at American Airlines Arena, perhaps proving that they can indeed win in this series. That being said, it’s only a matter of time until the Heat turn on the jets, and we think they’re going to do just that when push comes to shove at the United Center in Games 3 and 4 of this series. Not only do we think that Miami is sweeping this series, but we think it is sweeping it without having to break a sweat. Four wins by at least a dozen points are in store as we see it.

Bulls vs. Heat Series Prediction: Miami Heat in 4

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