Film Breakdown: How OKC Thunder Defense Suffocated Grizzlies

Clip two again sees Holmgren switch onto Morant and hold him up until Lu Dort recovers letting Chet switch back to Bagley. That ability to switch the pick-and-rolls so smoothly haults the inital action and Memphis is able to score on an offense rebound after a broken play.

In the next two clips, it starts with Hartenstein's turn to play drop coverage in the pick-and-roll and hold Morant up at the rim. It forces the Grizzlies star to take a difficult floater over a seven-footer, a result OKC will live with make-or-miss.

In the following clip, things really get fun. Memphis tries double screens screens with its bigs and Dort brushes aside Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zach Edey. This is the bread and butter of the Thunder's defensive clinic: Scram switches, which is mainly happening away from the ball but ever important.

As Bane comes off the Edey screen, Hartenstein jumps out to grab him incase Dort is hung up, as Dort fights through it turns into a double team of a bad playmaker at the Paycom Center logo. Bane has to jump and launch a pass to the opposite slot. All the while, Holmgren has stayed home to defend Jackson Jr., Shai Gillgeous-Alexander shows to the paint to stop an Edey roll and swiftly jumps back to the corner shooter as Hartenstein peel switches off the Bane double team to the paint for Edey. By the time the ball gets to Edey, everyone is accounted for but Hartenstein flys by and falls off of Edey setting up an easy slam. But the principals of this made shot are what stand out in future possessions to heavy contests and forced misses.

Aside from crisp scram switches, the Oklahoma City Thunder did a great job of forcing bad playmakers to make tough decisions. In this play, Bane gets the reset at the top of the key, Alex Caruso runs Bane off the line, Cason Wallace is there to meet him in the gap, Jalen Williams jumps the passing lanes for a steal to spark transition. Wallace is able to leave Jaren Jackson Jr. to heavily play the gap and cut off the rim forcing Bane to make a pass he isn't comfortable with because he can trust Williams and knows he is in the right spot.

On the first play of this thread, Memphis tries to throw a quick entry pass to Jaren Jackson Jr. with Jalen Williams on him. Williams bodies Jackson Jr. as he tries to lower his shoulder and Wallace collapses onto Jackson Jr. when it appears he had tunnel vision to score and was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a loose handle.

The last video Once again shows an Edey screen does nothing to hold up Caruso, he stays attached to Bane, who is gapped by Dort and Wiggins shows at the rim to make Bane pass up a drive, and like a good secondary in football it was almost as if a quarterback that sees a passing window too late, Williams gets a break on the ball and which is a touch behind Morant instead of leading him to the rim as a good passer would be able to, Williams takes advantage.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have to continue to play this level of defense in Game 2 and throughout the series, as they squeezed the life out of the Grizzlies' offense in Game 1.