Thunder Vs. Grizzlies Predictions: Why It's Oklahoma City's Year

By SBNation.com senior editor Andrew Sharp.

Zach Randolph went all Kevin Durant on the Spurs with 17 points in the fourth quarter on Friday, and now here we are, with Z-Bo and Durant lined up for Sunday. The Grizzlies have been pretty incredible for the past two weeks, but it seems like less of a fluke than the underdogs of years' past.

It's not like Memphis is reinventing the wheel or tapping into some magic shooting. If I told you about a team with insane perimeter defense and dominant big men on offense, wouldn't you expect them to thrive in the playoffs? That's Memphis, where Tony Allen and Shane Battier make them tough on defense, and Marc Gasol and Z-Bo carry them on the other end.

(Excuse me... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)

(Just had to get that off my chest.)

But you know what makes this series so interesting? OKC is the team with insane perimeter offense (Westbrook, Durant) and dominat interior defense (Ibaka Blocka, Perk). The exact opposite of Memphis, basically. The contrast should make for a couple of awesome games, but in the end, this is OKC's series to lose. I love the Grizzlies and God knows we all love Z-Bo and Tony Allen--why couldn't they have played the Lakers???--but this is OKC's year. Durant and Westbrook are better on offense than Randolph and Gasol, and Perk and Ibaka are good enough on defense to make that gap a even bigger. The Pick: Thunder in 5.

Be sure to follow our Thunder vs. Grizzlies hub for full series coverage. For more on the Thunder, visit Welcome To Loud City. For more on the Grizzlies, visit Straight Outta Vancouver.